The project aims to strengthen the Ukrainian population’s ability to help themselves by qualifying multipliers in special first aid and establishing a rescue service specializing in the transfer of seriously injured and sick patients within Ukraine.
The AGNF team visited project partners in Lviv and Kyiv, where they also met with political representatives and healthcare stakeholders. The course of the project was presented and discussed there. Needs and prospects for future projects were also discussed.
Among other things, the project team carried out the journey with its own intensive care transport vehicle in order to gain experience in transporting patients over longer distances. Klaus Meyer, CEO of AGNF, was part of the team: “Above all, the visit is also a sign of appreciation for the local partners. Initiating a project from a safe distance is one thing. Experiencing the situation on the ground is something else.” Visits included the largest orthopaedic and rehabilitation center in Ukraine – Unbroken in Lviv, the project partners SFI Ukraine and LEF as well as the Special Training Center in Kyiv. A team of journalists accompanied the AGNF during the entire stay. The footage will be made into a documentary for ZDF and broadcast in a few weeks’ time.
The team was particularly impressed by how Ukrainian citizens manage to live a comparatively normal everyday life despite the war and the constant threat of air strikes – at least in the two cities they visited. In conversations, however, you also realize how two years of war weigh on people’s souls.