1 April-10 London ambulances donated to Ukraine amid desperate need for more aid
London Ambulance staff returning from donating 10 ambulances to Ukraine have told of the desperate need for more aid and trained medics to help refugees fleeing the war.
A team of 26 LAS volunteers drove the ambulances, which had recently been decommissioned under a “green” upgrade of the capital’s fleet, 1,200 miles to Przemysl in south-eastern Poland to enable them to be handed over to Ukrainian paramedics.
The initiative was inspired by LAS paramedic Eva Bartoskova after learning how her aunt in the Czech Republic had taken in Ukrainian refugees.
Ross Lydall1 April 2022·3-min read
London Ambulance staff returning from donating 10 ambulances to Ukraine have told of the desperate need for more aid and trained medics to help refugees fleeing the war.
A team of 26 LAS volunteers drove the ambulances, which had recently been decommissioned under a “green” upgrade of the capital’s fleet, 1,200 miles to Przemysl in south-eastern Poland to enable them to be handed over to Ukrainian paramedics.
The initiative was inspired by LAS paramedic Eva Bartoskova after learning how her aunt in the Czech Republic had taken in Ukrainian refugees.
Ms Bartoskova and five colleagues from LAS’s hazardous area response team decided to remain in the Polish city of Lublin, camping for several days, to volunteer at refugee centres.
Witnessing the flood of women and children and the scale of need, they went shopping and bought large supplies of basic medicines, towels and blankets.
“We are seeing the reality [of war], which has made us feel very emotional,” Ms Bartoskova told the Standard. “It’s making us feel the journey was worth every mile. I’m so glad that we did it and that we stayed to help.”
Thursday morning a bus with 60 people arrived at one of two refugee centres in Lublin. The previous evening 20 people arrived. Ms Bartoskova, senior sector clinical lead at LAS, said: “They are running out of donations and supplies.
“Lots of the [local] volunteers are just students. They are doing absolutely amazing work.
“People are sleeping together in big sports halls with no privacy at all. Some have very small babies. There are adults, children, cats and dogs.
Ross Lydall1 April 2022·3-min read
London Ambulance staff returning from donating 10 ambulances to Ukraine have told of the desperate need for more aid and trained medics to help refugees fleeing the war.
A team of 26 LAS volunteers drove the ambulances, which had recently been decommissioned under a “green” upgrade of the capital’s fleet, 1,200 miles to Przemysl in south-eastern Poland to enable them to be handed over to Ukrainian paramedics.
The initiative was inspired by LAS paramedic Eva Bartoskova after learning how her aunt in the Czech Republic had taken in Ukrainian refugees.
Ms Bartoskova and five colleagues from LAS’s hazardous area response team decided to remain in the Polish city of Lublin, camping for several days, to volunteer at refugee centres.
Witnessing the flood of women and children and the scale of need, they went shopping and bought large supplies of basic medicines, towels and blankets.
“We are seeing the reality [of war], which has made us feel very emotional,” Ms Bartoskova told the Standard. “It’s making us feel the journey was worth every mile. I’m so glad that we did it and that we stayed to help.”
Thursday morning a bus with 60 people arrived at one of two refugee centres in Lublin. The previous evening 20 people arrived. Ms Bartoskova, senior sector clinical lead at LAS, said: “They are running out of donations and supplies.
“Lots of the [local] volunteers are just students. They are doing absolutely amazing work.
“People are sleeping together in big sports halls with no privacy at all. Some have very small babies. There are adults, children, cats and dogs.
“They are so in need of medical help. One of the refugee centres has had an outbreak of diarrhoea. The sanitary conditions are not great.”
She said that despite aid donations from countries such as the UK, which has given more than five million medical items, “It’s not enough”.
Basisschoolleerlingen ‘kopen’ ambulance voor Oekraïne: “Dit zet aan tot meer”
Leerlingen van de Josephschool in Bloemendaal stonden vanmiddag gek te kijken toen er een ambulance hun schoolplein op kwam rijden. Gelukkig is er niemand gewond, wel hadden de leerlingen geld ingezameld voor de stichting Zeilen van vrijheid, die oude bruikbare ambulances aankoopt en deze vol met hulpgoederen richting oorlogsgebieden in Oekraïne stuurt.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qb4nGvDfFpo%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Mike Noordhoek, directeur van de Josephschool, is trots op de inzamelingsactie van zijn kinderen. “We hebben een kleine duizend euro ingezameld en je merkte echt dat de kinderen, vooral in de hogere klassen, betrokken waren. En dit is natuurlijk tastbaar, hierdoor zien ze wat er met het geld gebeurt.”
NU TOTAAL AL …..27 ambulances
Morgen vertrekt er voor de tweede keer een groep ambulances richting oorlogsgebieden in Oekraïne, daarmee heeft de organisatie Zeilen van vrijheid ervoor gezorgd dat er zo’n 27 ambulances zijn vertrokken. Dat is hard nodig volgens Zmicier Zaleznicenka van de stichting, omdat er grote behoefte is aan medische hulpmiddelen.
“De ambulance is nu nog leeg, maar voor vertrekken, stoppen we hem helemaal vol met medicijnen, medische apparatuur en andere hulpmiddelen. Ook kan de ambulance zelf gebruikt worden om mensen te helpen”, aldus Zaleznicenka.
De auto heeft toestemming om Oekraïne in te rijden, wel zullen er bij de grens mensen uit dat land het stuur overnemen om verder te rijden. Aan de binnenkant van de auto zijn ook stickers geplakt met de vraag om foto’s en video’s te maken en die op te sturen naar mensen in Nederland. Die worden vervolgens hier op social media kanalen van Zeilen van Vrijheid gedeeld.
Op de vraag of ze op de Josephschool vaker geld in gaan zamelen hoeft de directeur niet lang na te denken. “Dit zet wel aan tot meer. We gaan zeker meer acties opzetten”, aldus Noordhoek.