Emergency Medical Aid for Ukraine subject of documentary series (05/25/03)

Emergency Medical Aid for Ukraine subject of documentary series

MACHIASPORT, Maine - Emergency Medical Aid for Ukraine (EMAU), the medical commission of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM), was recently honored to be chosen from among thousands of humanitarian groups to be filmed for an informative documentary called "Legacy of Liberty" produced by the highly acclaimed series "The Visionaries."

The story of EMAU's work in Ukraine was funded by a $250,000 grant from "The Visionaries" and $50,000 in supplementary donations from Ukrainian community groups and individuals of all nationalities. "Legacy of Liberty" is currently being shown nationwide on Public Broadcast T.V. The program, filmed on site, shows EMAU's work in Ukraine by focusing on the children and adult patients helps, and in particular, it tells the story of EMAU's efforts at the Lviv Regional Burn Center in the treatment of a young boy electrocuted by a fallen power line.

"Legacy of Liberty" is narrated by film and TV actor Sam Waterston. Mr. Waterston, who donates his time to The Visionaries, is best known for his best actor Oscar-nominated performance in the 1984 film, "The Killing Fields," his current TV role in "Law and Order" and spots on The History Channel. "The stories captured by the series promote hope and courage," said Mr. Waterston. "We need more productions like this, and the world needs more people like the ones in the videos, who recognize an opportunity to effect change and are willing to sacrifice their own time and comfort to do it."

Readers are advised to check their local PBS schedule for the showing of "Legacy of Liberty" via their local newspapers or at www.visionaries.org.

EMAU has received several awards and much media attention in the 12 years of its existence, including the Firestone "100 Who Serve Award," the Washington Chief Consular Award for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and this November, the "Mykhailo Hrushevsky Medal" for significant dedication to the Ukrainian people and for humanitarian aid by the International Golden Fortune Foundation.

EMAU is an innovative "no frills" non-profit organization whose mission is to set up medical centers of excellence in Ukraine in order to provide state-of-the-art medical care to its people.

It is an all-volunteer organization. All EMAU volunteers are unpaid and take upon themselves all administrative, travel and lodging costs. They work with and also learn from a dedicated group of professionals in Ukraine who often go without pay for months at a time, but remain committed to their patients.

Ninety-nine percent of donated funds are used for the direct medical care of patients. EMAU's goal is to guarantee self-reliance and eventual self-sufficiency in the hospitals that it serves through education and training of the Ukrainian medical personnel and administrators. EMAU has maintained an ongoing, continuous liaison with the four hospitals (centers of excellence) that it serves. Its hospitals, unlike most in Ukraine serve the most ill patients from all over the country, not just from the local region.

EMAU has an established rapport and cultural know-how with the hospitals that it serves.

EMAU has an ongoing personal contact and a hands-on approach to its missions. Over the period of 12 years, EMAU has parlayed its caring into 10 effective, ongoing projects. Many of its projects are the first of its kind for Ukraine. EMAU is planning the first ever, nationwide poison referral center in Ukraine. The organization provides ongoing support to its projects in Ukraine by providing continuous supplies of medical equipment, ancillaries and medicines to the hospitals.

EMAU has in the past, and is prepared in the future, to assist other humanitarian organizations in the logistics of planning mission trips. This includes contacts with common carriers, visa applications, contacts with appropriate hospital personnel for arranging surgeries and procedures, and appropriate liaisons at the hospitals for translation while in Ukraine. EMAU can schedule its own mission trips to coincide with other groups so that its coordinators can show the ropes of medical aid work to specialists outside its organization, thereby foregoing "reinvention of the wheel." The cooperation and collegiality between EMAU medical volunteers and their Ukrainian counterparts have engendered hope for the future of medicine in Ukraine despite critical economic problems in all Ukrainian hospitals and created lasting friendships and much good will between Ukraine and the United States.

As one of EMAU's volunteers, a journalist, wrote: "The purpose of EMAU's mission is not merely the worthy goal of saving a few lives today; it is to help create conditions by which Ukrainian medicine can save large numbers of lives in the future."

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To donate to EMAU or to request more information about EMAU, readers may contact EMAU, via Roman Dashawetz, Coordinator/Director, HC 70 Box 56, Machiasport, ME 04655; telephone/fax, (207) 255-3319; e-mail, apollog47@yahoo.com.

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