May 15, 2015

U.S.-Ukraine Foundation sends humanitarian aid to Ukraine

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Vadym Guliuk Photography

With humanitarian aid cargo ready for shipment to Ukraine (from left) are: Yaroslav Brisiuck, chargé d’affaires, Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., Tetyana Neeley, humanitarian aid coordinator, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, and John A. Kun, vice president/chief operating officer, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.

Washington – The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation’s Humanitarian Aid Program marked a major accomplishment on April 29, when a 40 foot tractor-trailer with a load of medical supplies weighing 20 tons and valued at between $300,000 – $400,000, left for Ukraine from the Fairfax County regional office of the Brother’s Brother Foundation.

The humanitarian assistance effort for Ukraine, sponsored by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), a non-profit based in Washington, is a collaborative one that includes a number of organizations and many individuals.

A portion of this joint work occurred in Pittsburgh, where members of the Ukrainian American community partnered with the Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF) in donating part of the total aid sent to Ukraine.

Led by Dr. Alexander Kirichenko, a radiation oncologist at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh who came to the U.S. in 1997 from Ukraine, the coordinated endeavor of donations came from the Allegheny Health Network, Butler Health System, Trinity Health System in Steubenville, Ohio, and St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in McKees Rocks, Pa.

In the Washington area, the project was organized over the past several months by the foundation’s Humanitarian Aid Coordinator, Tetyana Neeley, who brought together the key components of medical donations, international shipping, delivery logistics and final distribution in Ukraine through the organization Kozhen Mozhe, to hospitals primarily in central and eastern Ukraine where the need is greatest.”

Ukraine Embassy staff with U.S.-Ukraine Foundation staff and volunteers.

Ukraine Embassy staff with U.S.-Ukraine Foundation staff and volunteers.

John A, Kun, USUF’s chief operating officer, noted, “Tetyana performed wonderfully in a complex environment. She worked with our good friends in Pittsburgh, with BBF both in Pittsburgh and in Fairfax County, with our shipping firm, Meest, and with our many volunteers and cooperating organizations, such as United Help Ukraine.

The shipment of medical items will go to civilian hospitals and medical centers treating many of the injured from the war-ravaged eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The facilities are located in: Artemivsk, Kharkiv and Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, Letychiv in western Ukraine, Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, and Kyiv.

USUF President Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell stated, “There is a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine that is a result of Russia’s war of aggression. It is estimated that over a million people have been displaced in Ukraine. Over 15,000 people have been injured, over 6,000 have been killed. The people of Ukraine need our help. We are grateful for the cooperation of the Embassy of Ukraine, the financial generosity of our donors, including those gifting through the Goals for Ukraine initiative, the medical product-deliverables provided by the Brother’s Brother Foundation and others, and the on-the-ground efforts of many volunteers who make this effort of humanitarian assistance possible. We look forward to the assistance of many others as so much more help for Ukraine is desperately needed.”

To participate in this humanitarian effort, readers may contact the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, 1660 L Street NW – Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036; e-mail, [email protected]; website, www.usukraine.org.

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