Just before Christmas we gratefully received word that Stichting Aid to Ukraine has been granted ANBI status, the Dutch designation for a public benefit organisation. It lets donors and the foundation itself make use of several tax advantages when giving and receiving gifts. The government chips in, so to speak, and that is very welcome indeed. The RSIN number you need for your tax return is 866916556.
One of the volunteer groups is building a new vehicle for transporting the wounded, in practice a van pressed into service as an ambulance. It is done simply, but by people who know what they are doing. Through Almeva we arranged a good stock of consumables: tourniquets, infusion sets, intraosseous drills and gauze.
This Land Rover Discovery has been checked over by the mechanics at Bas4Cars and we are taking it to Kharkiv loaded with supplies. Alongside the vehicle we are bringing a fresh stock of trauma supplies and practical items such as generators and IT equipment.
Roman spoke at Hack42 about life in Kharkiv. People have organised themselves in order to keep going. Together with some 250 others in the ETOC foundation, Roman arranges relief supplies, helps out after shelling, carries out evacuations and keeps the city running. It is striking to hear how much courage and energy it takes when your city is under attack, how much all help is valued, and how badly it is needed. We can barely imagine it, and at the same time it is very close to home.
Thanks to the mechanics at Bas4Cars, two more Land Rovers have been checked over and are ready to leave. In Ukraine the ETOC volunteers use them for aid work and evacuations. It is hard to think of a more useful job for them.
Roman teaches mathematics in Kharkiv and volunteers with ETOC, the organisation we work with closely. Everyone in the city pitches in. Roman is in the Netherlands to collect a vehicle loaded with supplies, and has time to talk about what is happening in his city and in his community. The evening is hosted by Hack42 in Arnhem, a hackerspace that has contributed to our work for years.
Thanks to Almeva and the ambulance stations working together, we can send pallets of trauma supplies to Kharkiv on a regular basis. In return, colleagues at the ambulance station in Kharkiv sent us the sliding door of an ambulance riddled with shrapnel. It is now on display at Almeva's new premises in Almere. In the Netherlands we work behind the same kind of doors, which makes it striking to see.
Board member Niels received a token of appreciation for our work from the ambassador of Ukraine. We are proud of it, and it gives us extra motivation to keep going at full strength. (Photo: Lera Manzovitova)
Back from Ukraine, board member Ron visited the Princess Máxima Center for paediatric oncology in Utrecht, where many Ukrainian children are treated. He brought two cakes from Kharkiv for the Ukrainian staff and children, along with a booklet of stamps: "Children of the victory draw the Ukraine of the future". The cake was a treasured childhood memory, said the Ukrainian interpreter who was born in Kharkiv.
The latest shipment has arrived at ETOC in Kharkiv, with thanks to everyone who helped arrange the transport. Four pallets of supplies from ambulance stations and directly from Almeva are hugely welcome. This time they hold personal protective equipment and trauma materials of the kind used in Dutch ambulance care as well: tourniquets, haemostatic gauze, infusion materials and tracheostomy sets. The doctors and nurses are delighted with them.