With the war in Ukraine still raging, Humanity at Heart has been looking for ways to support the humanitarian effort.  Our initial response was to help our partners in Open Hands who were supporting refugees at the border with Romania.  But clearly, it is becoming more and more vital to help people who remain within Ukraine.

For some weeks now we have been talking to a fantastic group based in Ditchling,  South Downs Appeal for Medical Aid for Ukraine, which was set up in response to the war in Ukraine, with a specific aim to provide essential medical equipment. Recently, they have been helping Shayne Bridget, a former combat medic from Cornwall.  Shayne is travelling out to Ukraine, and Humanity at Heart was able to provide some of the medication he will need to treat patients when he arrives.

Please read on, to hear in Shayne’s words, what he is aiming to do to help those poor, desperate people who remain within Ukraine.

“ I’ll be at the facility attending to the injured and delivering babies. I will also be moving between field hospitals and triage Stations around the green zones.

Additionally, I will be heading into areas where civilians are gathered in Ukraine, such as underground stations and bunkers. Some of these areas won’t be quite so safe. This is why the equipment I’ve asked for covers a lot of eventualities.

As for the psychology, this is why I was asked to go to the facility first, as there are a lot of young women going through PTSD after sexual assaults. Although psychology cannot do enough in this time scale to help victims as I’ll only have one or two days with them, we can triage and hopefully teach coping strategies to the patient, and de-escalation techniques to the family (if present)”

For more information about Shayne’s work, or to donate medical equipment, head to the South Downs Appeal for Medical Aid for Ukraine’s Facebook page.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/4816093721800881

If you would like to donate to Humanity at Heart’s Ukrainian fund, please do so in the shop or via our website

https://humanityatheart.org.uk/