Thanks to a good sponsor we were able to send a whole package of phones and tablets to Kharkiv. A modern portable ultrasound probe paired with a phone from the Netherlands lets this doctor take quick scans. The more mobile this kind of equipment is, the better it stands up to attacks, power cuts and other trouble, so that care can be given even in wartime conditions.
This year the big Christmas tree in Kharkiv stands in the metro, underground and safe from attack. The city itself is cheerful enough, with a Christmas metro train and decorations along the roads. And Russian fireworks every night, because the attacks carry on through the holidays too. So we carry on as well, raising budget for vehicles, for medical supplies and for IT. Thank you to everyone who contributed this past year.
The Dutch Angry Nerds Podcast covers our project regularly, for which many thanks. This episode answers an important question: what do you do when you have equipment left over? They explain how donating works (get in touch, for instance at more@aidtoukraine.nl), what you can expect (we are glad to come to you) and what is left for you to do (decide what you want to part with). Office equipment such as laptops, desktops, monitors, servers and network gear is all welcome, and gets a good second life through our contacts in Kharkiv.
Kharkiv is alive, thanks to its people and in spite of the war. Last month we visited the city to bring vehicles and relief supplies. The human side of the work is perhaps what we add most. The coffee is still better than ours, but in the favourite coffee place there is a bag of tourniquets and pressure bandages on the wall where a defibrillator would hang in the Netherlands. People are holding on. They want to, and they have no other choice.
HackerHotel 2025 gave us the chance to explain how we help the people of Kharkiv from the Netherlands, and of course to raise funds. The talk by Roman and Niels was recorded and can be watched online. It gives a clear picture of the situation there, of the work during evacuations and after shelling. It puts a face to the news about Ukraine. That does not make it easier to take in, but it does make it more human.
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.
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.
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.