News
Breast Milk Bank Project
For the last couple of years, Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine has been doing what they can to help people in war-torn Ukraine. They now need your help to set up a breast milk bank for all the premature babies now being born there.
Learn more via Vital People, on CHEK News.
Honouring Commitment: Recognizing Vancouver Island's Support for Ukraine
On Feb 22, local humanitarians, Victoria Hand Project, WUNDERfund, Dymytro Borysenko, President of the Ukraine Canadian Congress, and Oleg Atamaniuk (Ukraine surgeon), gathered with local community members to share their experiences and the importance of our community's continued support for the people of Ukraine.
New Project: Breast Milk Bank
The past two years of this horrific war in Ukraine has resulted in a tenfold increase in the number of trauma related premature babies being born in Ukraine with the resulting difficulty in mothers being able to produce sufficient breast milk for their babies.
The equipment that these funds will purchase include:
- Human Milk Analyzer,
- Pasteurizer
- Medical Freezer
- Pharmaceutical Refrigerator.
A “Go Fund Me” page has been set up with a project goal of $50,000. To donate please link here. For more information regarding the project please contact:
- Bruce Brown 250-888-7062 bmbis@shaw.ca
- Bob Beckett 250-818-2791 bob.beckett@outlook.com
Colwood supports transportation in Ukraine Schools
Transporting students to and from school has become a challenge in Ukraine as many school districts have had to loan school busses to the war effort. Those buses are being used to move soldiers to and from the frontlines.
Through the community of Colwood, a bus was purchased in Poland and is now transporting children in community in Ukraine. “At the beginning of the war we gave up two buses,” said Oleksandr Prendetsky, mayor of Olyka. “This bus will help in a big way.”
Photo Courtesy: Brendan Strain
Langford supports STEM in Ukraine Schools
“It is impossible to live in a modern world without technologies,” said Iryna Habar, director for a centre for professional development in Horokhiv. Langford council contributed money for the purchase of new equipment to be used to teach children how to use and embrace new technology.
Photo Courtesy: Brendan Strain
Vancouver Island volunteer group helps students in Ukraine
With help from students at Oak Bay High School, two diesel-powered generators were purchased for two schools in one small community in the northwest region of the country. “These generators will benefit everyone in the community and the schools can now act as a community warming station during those prolonged power outages,” said Victor Pas, mayor of Kamin-Kashyrs’kyi.
Oak Bay leaders pitch campaign to keep Ukraine schools running
A new Greater Victoria fundraising campaign aims to keep kids comfortable in a pair of Ukraine schools. Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch and Oak Bay High principal Shawn Boulding are working together to support two high schools facing regular power outages due to the ongoing Russian invasion.
“We live in a community blessed with peace, financial stability and trustworthy infrastructure where we don’t have to worry about things as simple as power and heat on a daily basis,” Murdoch said in a news release.
The pair calls on Oak Bay High families and the greater community to help fundraise $20,000 to buy generators for two high schools in Ukraine. In the School to Shkola (shkola is Ukrainian for school) campaign, funding will buy and install two generators to maintain power during school days amid regular outages. “This is an opportunity for our school community, parents, educators and everyone in the region who understands the importance of education to contribute. This will support youth, just like our youth, but growing up in a time and place of trauma and disruption,” Boulding said.
Link to full article: Oak Bay News
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Langford adopting Horokhiv, Ukraine as a sister city
Langford and Horokhiv in Ukraine will become sister cities after the city council approved a motion to formalize the relationship on Nov. 7. The motion would include funding of $7,500 that the mayor of Horokhiv would use to purchase resources for students participating in science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs.
Area residents Bruce Brown and Bob Beckett initially set up the move to formalize these relations between Langford and Horokhiv. “Langford has a history of seeing the bigger picture with global events,” said Brown. “The community has been unbelievable in supporting these projects with large donations.”
Courtesy of Goldstream Gazette; Thomas Eley. Full Article link here
'This is a way for us to help': Oak Bay students begin fundraising drive to help two Ukrainian schools
A group of students from the leadership class at Oak Bay High School is about to embark on a major fundraising project. “We’re trying to raise $20,000 for two generators to go to Ukraine,” said Caylie McDougall, a Grade 10 student at the school.
Those generators will go to two schools to help in a learning environment that those students can barely imagine. Victor Pas is the mayor of Kamin Kashyrsk, a small town in the northwest of Ukraine. He says with air raid sirens constantly sounding throughout the country, students are often forced to spend their entire day in their school’s bomb shelter. While Russian rockets continue to target the country’s power grid, prolonged rolling blackouts are common, leaving students to learn in the dark.
“It almost makes it impossible to learn,” said Kevin Murdoch, the mayor of Oak Bay. Hearing what the students in that community have to go through on an almost daily basis, Murdoch wanted to help. “This war is still going on and Russia is still bombing their infrastructure,” said Murdoch. “They are trying to knock out their heat and their power.” “This is a way for us to help in some small way,” he continued.
Victoria humanitarian group short of fundraising goal before returning to Ukraine
Throughout the country, the Ukrainian hospital system is being overwhelmed by the injured. Currently on route to the country are 16 pallets of medical aid that was purchased by the group through its fundraising efforts. “It’s a terrible situation,” said Oleg Atamanyuk, a Ukrainian surgeon. Atamauyuk says every day more injured soldiers and civilians are brought to his hospital for life-saving medical treatment.
“Unfortunately we don’t have enough equipment, we don’t have enough medicine. But for now, we just keep working,” said the surgeon.
The team has a goal of raising an additional $50,000 before its departure to the battered country. That money will be used to purchase more medical equipment for the hospital system.
Another community has requested two diesel-powered generators so that students can attend school during the country's rolling blackouts. “I mean it’s a war-torn country and they need a lot of help,” said Keven Murdoch, the mayor of Oak Bay. For that need, the team has found an ally in Murdoch and Oak Bay High School. “We’re going to jointly look at doing some fundraising to raise money for generators for high schools in Ukraine,” said Murdoch.
Link here for full CTV News Story by Brendan Strain
Vancouver Island humanitarian group to return to Ukraine this fall
“We recognize that the need is increasing,” said Bob Beckett, a retired Langford fire chief. That is why a humanitarian team from the West Shore will be returning to Ukraine later this fall. This time with a list of much-needed aid, identified through partnerships created in that country on past missions.“Everything that is being asked for, we’re doing our best to provide that,” said Beckett.
Link here for CTV News Story by Brendan Strain
West Shore golf tournament raising money for local charities and Ukraine.
"Beckett has led two humanitarian missions to Ukraine since the war began. Feeding more than 80,000 displaced people, bringing much needed rescue equipment into the country and resupplying overwhelmed hospitals with medical supplies."
Link here for CTV News Story by Brendan Strain