In October 2022, russia put extra effort into targeting and massively destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Regular waves of missiles and kamikaze drones were aimed at power plants, transmission lines, and other civilian objects. In November, it got to a point where some regions lost power, heat, and water entirely. The air raids damaged over 50% of the power system. Until this day, emergency blackouts in some areas of Ukraine last 10-12 hours or even more.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a big part of Razom’s budget has been allocated to aid medical facilities in Ukraine. Razom Health team quickly mobilized to help Ukrainian healthcare system and provided overwhelmed healthcare facilities with critical medicines, medical supplies, and equipment.
Razom’s partnership with Americares has been instrumental in supporting Razom for Ukraine’s mission. Since March 2022, Americares has provided over $70 million of aid to 74 organizations assisting those affected by the war in Ukraine. To Razom, they have generously donated crucial hospital supplies in the early stages of the war and continue being an ally in aiding the Ukrainian healthcare system.
Yoanna Ivaniv, Razom Health coordinator of Americares partnership, says working with them has been a great success. With the Americares grant of $250,000, Razom officially started a project to supply Ukrainian hospitals with high-power generators.
...Americares' Ukraine Response Team was actively looking for ways to support Ukrainian hospitals' energy needs… The relationship we've had with Razom since the early-days of our response, coupled with their clearly laid-out plan, made the entire team at Americares comfortable supporting Razom in such a critically needed and time-sensitive project.
The first step was contacting our partners on the ground – Zdorovi Agency and Patients of Ukraine – to determine which hospitals were the priority. Both NGOs worked on aiding and developing healthcare in Ukraine before the war and developed advanced logistics and reporting systems. They vet the hospitals, complete thorough monitoring protocols, and have full transparency in their reports.
Razom Health worked with Patients and Zdorovi for many months, together completed multiple projects, and developed a trusting relationship. These organizations helped select the hospitals in need using the following criteria:
immediate proximity to the frontlines
multiple departments
ED (Emergency Department)
ICUs (Intensive Care Units)
multiple ORs (Operating Rooms)
heavy patient flow
ability to build a platform for generator installation
Initially, with the data from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, 22 medical facilities were selected for the project. Razom sent energy specialists and engineers to assess the facilities’ needs and capacity. As a result, 11 hospitals signed the agreement with Razom and started building the sites for the generators.
Meanwhile, Razom made a procurement offer using Prozorro – a decentralized public platform that ensures open access to procurement orders (tenders) in Ukraine. There were two competitive offers from Ukrainian companies, and the one with more experience in the field was chosen.
So far, 9 of 11 generators have been delivered and installed in hospitals in the Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions. With $40,000 saved from the grant, Razom plans to procure and deliver another generator to one of the hospitals affected by the war.
Nataliia Tulinova, a founder and CEO of Zdorovi Agency, has recently visited 21 medical facilities in Kherson, a region that remains under severe missile attacks. She says Kherson is not yet a part of the centralized database for medical facilities in Ukraine because it was under occupation when the database was created. Therefore, they do not receive the aid as promptly as other regions.
One of the most pressing concerns is landmine injuries. As terrifying as it sounds, the hospitals need surgical drills and saws used for amputations. Neurosurgical microscopes, ICU beds, commode wheelchairs, and diagnostic equipment like portable ultrasound and x-ray machines are also on the list of required equipment for patients found under collapsed buildings and injured by shellings and explosions.
Thank you for helping and being Razom.
PLEASE DONATE TODAY TO HELP RAZOM HEALTH SUPPORT UKRAINE’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Proper professional education and training start with sharing of expertise and experience. Razom’s Co-Pilot Project has had this approach as its cornerstone for the past five years, bringing American surgeons to Ukraine to provide their Ukrainian colleagues with hands-on trainings.
And now, Co-Pilot Project has just been described and discussed in the Lancet Neurology, one of the most reputable journals in the clinical neurosciences, which is heavily read by clinicians. As the journal’s website states: “With an Impact Factor of 59·935, we are the world-leading clinical neurology journal, ranking first among 212 clinical neurology journals globally (2021 Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate 2022).” Thus, the article is expected to have high visibility and response.
The article entitled “Urgent need for neurological care in Ukraine” serves as a call for aid to help improve neurological training for Ukrainian surgeons. The members of the neurosurgery and neurology communities “urge our colleagues in the medical community to join us in our efforts to improve neurological care in Ukraine.”, – reads the article. The authors “have compiled a list of urgent needs, as directly requested by local practitioners (appendix).” They encourage neurosurgeons and neurologists “to join our trips to Ukraine to provide in-person assistance and training” and health professionals “to contact their medical institutions and enquire about equipment and supplies that could be donated.” The authors highlight the key role of Razom in monitoring “the use of funds along with the delivery and utilisation of donations.”
Such training in advanced surgical skills is now more vital than ever, as many Ukrainians are being severely injured and wounded in the russian-Ukrainian war. We are deeply grateful for the support of the neurosurgery and neurology communities. Special thank-yous go to Luke Tomycz, Christopher Markosian, Oleksandr Strelko, Andrii Sirko, Mykhailo Lovha, Rocco Armonda and all the authors for their assistance in spreading the information about the CPP project and the current needs of Ukrainian surgeons.
Razom is multifaceted support for Ukraine: to stop the shelling (Advocacy), to stop the bleeding (delivering Tactical Medicine), to keep people alive (at Hospitals), to keep Ukrainians connected (with radios, generators), to connect the world to Ukraine (with you). We are committed to victory.
Dear Razom community,
This is our first newsletter of the year and it’s been too long since the last, so you will see a lot of updates from us in this edition. After our year-end holiday fundraising drive (we raised over $8MM, you are all absolutely incredible), the Razom team decided to take stock of its work and impact in 2022 to effectively plan for 2023 (while still delivering on our programs). To do this required comprehending the sheer scale and length of this war, which at times feels like a herculean effort. So does thinking it will go on for another day, and another.
In the span of nearly one year, Ukrainian Armed Forces, perhaps the most diverse army in the world today (made up of professionals, musicians, ballet dancers, olympic athletes, history teachers, journalists, volunteers, sons & daughters and moms & dads… did you know that 1 in 6 people in the Ukrainian army are women?) have defended Ukraine and freedom against an imperialistic, genocidal power with massive consequences. Razom has supported these First Responders and Defenders from the start, and will continue to do so.
In the span of nearly an entire year, Ukraine’s healthcare system has withstood extreme pressure and strain that has risked and scarred the lives of countless individuals across the country as this war is not only impacted on the battlefield, but in the systematic bombing of hospitals, schools, malls, theaters, apartment buildings, homes, key water and energy infrastructure, and more. Razom has supported doctors and hospitals in the hottest regions across Ukraine from the start, and will continue to do so.
In the span of nearly an entire year, there’s been a renaissance of NGOs in Ukraine that have stepped up in incredible ways (much like during the Maidan of 2013-2014 when Razom itself was born) supporting a vibrant civil society. Razom has supported these grassroots organizations in Ukraine from the start, and will continue to do so.
All of these targeted efforts on their own, save lives, and when put all together, move Ukraine forward in winning this illegal war. Ukrainians have resisted and beat back this horror for 356 days now, but need your continued support today as ever before. Every time you donate, forward this to a friend, repost and tweet, call your representatives, rally, engage with the things that Ukrainians create – you become a part of the resistance and the victory.
In just the first half of February, Razom teams delivered a total of 132 orders to First Responders and Defenders, most of them in the east of Ukraine. We also transferred 4500 IFAKs to a major military unit so that they can be deployed quickly in case of an escalated assault on the one year anniversary of the full-scale invasion. In the months of December, January, and part of February, Razom fulfilled 641 orders (out of 745 which also went to medical facilities and NGOs) of tactical medicine and communications equipment to First Responders and Defenders. We constantly monitor requests so we can respond quickly with the supplies needed most that save lives.
Our team in Ukraine also launched an innovative collaboration to provide meals-ready-to-eat (MRE) that are made in Ukraine. We’ll share more in our next newsletter issue, but you can preview it here Проект «Космічний харч» – Razom (razomforukraine.org).
Each order makes it to the end user thanks to the effort of many hands. We are streamlining our processes so we can keep getting more efficient. Our Razom office in Lviv today was busy with people processing paperwork on deliveries that have gone out this week and preparing the next shipments.
Our support for the Ukrainian healthcare system is formalized under the project Razom Health, whose activities have evolved into a diverse set of programs and strategic partnerships designed to not only support the system during wartime, but strengthen medical care in Ukraine for the future in line with Razom’s mission. Here is a spotlight of some of our work over the past two months in gathering medical supplies, planning out the logistics of their delivery, and coordinating medical missions:
With grants from Americares and others, Razom Health was able to cover the costs of procuring, delivering, and installing backup hospital grade power generators and winterization equipment. So far three out of eleven generators have been installed (which includes training Ukrainian medical workers to use the equipment) and three oil heaters delivered in the Dnipropetrovsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Thanks to a grant and your generous donations, Razom Health was able to procure, set up, and distribute (with some still in transit to our warehouse in Ukraine) over 120 portable Butterfly ultrasounds so that doctors and paramedics on the front lines of the war can diagnose and treat patients faster, more accurately, and in a non-invasive way in wartime conditions.
In partnership with our friends and distribution partners Zdorovi in Ukraine, an anesthesia machine from Partners for World Health was delivered to a hospital in Dnipro.
In the aftermath of traumatic injuries caused by the war, many Ukrainian civilians are in need of durable medical equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches. Razom’s team of drivers continue to deliver these items (donated as a three-part installment from the Afya Foundation) to hospitals, rehab facilities, and nursing homes throughout Ukraine. In December, they made it to the Veterans Hospital in Kropyvnytskyi and Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro.
In partnership with Marsh Zhinok in Ukraine, who distributes prenatal vitamins as part of baby boxes for pregnant women, those who have just given birth, as well as women who are breastfeeding, we’ve been able to deliver 6 pallets of prenatal vitamins that will reach women in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.
Over the holidays and well into the new year, our team has been distributing brand new scrubs from FIGS to boost the spirits of overburdened Ukrainian healthcare workers across the country.
Our Razom Grants project aims to support civil society at the most local levels across Ukraine. Non-governmental organizations, of which there are over 120 now that have received grants, address hyper local problems in regions that suffer most as a result of the war. During this winter season, our focus has been on electricity (which can be connectivity for school children, or warmth for the displaced and people in need) and basic humanitarian aid to regions in Ukraine that are experiencing the most extreme violence and destruction, i.e. closest to the front.
As of today, our team of drivers in partnership with our grantees have distributed 87 generators and 46 charging stations across Ukraine. They are largely for shelters, “Resilience Points,” humanitarian aid hubs, and institutions like PEN Ukraine International and Ukrainian Institute Kyiv. For example with Volonterska UA, we enabled them to deliver 14 generators as part of their goal to distribute them to every de-occupied village in the Kharkiv region where there is still no electricity. They were installed in village councils, administrative premises, medical stations, lyceums, cultural centers, hospitals, and more.
To get a sense of what life is like for civilians in de-occupied territories or towns that are on the front lines, one needs look no further than Bakhmut in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine [read our long-form blog post here]. Check out video footage from our grantees at Ukrainian Charity Alliance delivering aid there. One woman shares, “Along with the packages of humanitarian aid that you all deliver, you’re also delivering faith in that we are one Ukraine and that we are not forgotten.”
As we look ahead to the challenges in front of us, Razom has taken steps to systematize and scale our organization in order to better serve our mission, our projects, our donors, and our engagement with volunteers. For eight years Razom was a fully volunteer-run organization. In 2022, we started building a volunteer-driven organization with strong institutional support. Today this means transforming our Board into a governance board, compensating our CEO, and building out a full-time and part-time staff to support our programs sustainably. This month, we are also beginning our first-ever independent financial audit and continue to improve our systems and processes.
As we approach the one year mark of the full-scale invasion and of the intense sprint of our work together, we invite you to join people around the world to rally in support of Ukraine on Saturday, February 25th. We’re keeping a running list of rallies here, and if you’d like to get your city, town, or village added to it, please reply to this email. It’s vital to continue putting pressure on our governments and public to not be bystanders to the atrocity in Ukraine, to “defend the international legal order and peace project of the EU, to end an era of empire and weaken the prestige of tyrants around the world, and remind each other that democracy is the better system.” The list is a lot longer than that, and you can learn more here thanks to Timothy Snyder, a historian who specializes in the modern history of Central and Eastern Europe.
Join our advocates network to get the latest news from our Advocacy Team here: https://www.votervoice.net/RAZOMFORUKRAINE/Register There’s power in understanding key policy towards Ukraine to stay active and engaged with a war that’s impacted so many of us.
Thank you so much for reading this newsletter and hopefully passing it on, calling your representatives, joining us at events and rallies, and generously donating to our projects, and for showing your support for Ukraine. Stay razom (together).
P.S. – The 2022 tax receipts have now been sent out either by email or mail for donations totalling over $250 (please check your mailbox for the subject “Thank you for donating to Razom!”). If you have not received it, we might not have had your email or address, so please email us at donations@razomforukraine.org with “Tax Receipt” in the subject line and include your name and method of your donation.
While russia continues shelling Ukrainian cities, Razom is providing critical aid to Ukrainians impacted by these terrorizing attacks. Ukraine’s medical system is facing enormous challenges, but our partners have been helping us support civilian hospitals since day one of the war. The following are the most recent updates from our outstanding Razom Health team.
Thanks to a generous grant from Americares, Razom Health was able to procure 11 powerful generators for Ukrainian hospitals. Together with the help of our Ukrainian partners Patients of Ukraine and Zdorovi Agency our team will distribute them to the medical facilities that need them most. Providing generators will ensure that even during power outages doctors can continue providing emergency care and will be able to save the lives of many civilians. The first three generators are already on their way from our warehouse in Kyiv to hospitals in Kryvyi Rih, Marganets, and Tomakivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region of eastern Ukraine. To continue this critical initiative, we plan to procure at least 10 more generators so that we can assist hospitals in need throughout Ukraine.
Pictured below are an anesthesia machine that was recently delivered to a hospital in Dnipro and two containers of critical medical aid donated by Partners For World Health. We are grateful to our friends at Zdorovi Agency for distributing these items to the facilities that need them most.
In the aftermath of traumatic injuries caused by the war, many Ukrainian civilians are in need of durable medical equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches. Our partners Afya Foundation have been a leading donor of this equipment to Razom Health. Pictured here is the third and final container of Afya’s latest donation. This medical equipment will be distributed to hospitals, rehab facilities, and nursing homes throughout Ukraine.
We’d also like to thank our longtime partners WearFigs for boosting the spirits of Ukrainian healthcare workers this holiday season. FIGS supplied Ukrainian medical professionals with brand-new sets of their comfortable scrubs – a very welcome (and necessary) holiday gift for Ukraine’s healthcare heroes experiencing work and wartime fatigue. Thank you, FIGS, for showing how you stand with Ukraine!
This mission and aid would be impossible without the donations of thousands of caring people like you who sincerely support Ukraine. We appreciate your donations and encourage you to continue your vital support of the project. No donation is too small, especially when it comes to saving lives.
Razom Health team continues working hard on ensuring support of American and international organizations, funds and establishments, to provide diverse aid for hospitals and Ukrainian healthcare system overall. Here are the highlights of the last month of 2022.
During wartime, Ukrainian hospitals and the wider civilian population are experiencing severe shortages of medications. Razom Health is working to meet this ever-present need. Thanks to a generous donation from our partners at Sapientia, we are happy to share that many hospitals in hot-spot regions have recently received levothyroxine – a critical thyroid medication.
Shout out to David and Rachel – pictured here with our own Razom team members – who traveled halfway around the world (NYC —> Lviv ) to hand-deliver critical supplies for surgical departments in Ukrainian hospitals. This was made possible through the “Luggage for Life” program at Afya Foundation – a dedicated Razom Health partner.
This winter, with Ukraine’s basic infrastructure under attack, reliable heat sources are of the utmost importance for medical facilities – and Razom Health is meeting this need. Pictured here are the first of several oil heaters that Razom has procured for hospitals throughout the country. These two were delivered to hospitals in Izium and Balakliia, in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv oblast.
Pictured below is the recent delivery of wheelchairs to two hospitals in central Ukraine: the Veterans Hospital in Kropyvnytskyi and Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro. This could only become possible thanks to our network of partners and donors – thank you for helping us support Ukraine!
These are just few examples of the critical supplies that Razom is able to procure and deliver to Ukrainian hospitals, thanks to generous donations from our community. Want to help Ukrainian doctors, nurses, and patients this winter? Please consider supporting our work – donations of all sizes make a difference!
The disruption of the global supply chain since February 24th, 2022 has worsened the disease burden on Ukraine’s healthcare system. Limited transportation and the halting of clinical services have erected substantial barriers to accessing health care and medications in many areas of the country. Our Razom Health Team is working hard to partner up with global leaders in healthcare and organize the delivery of diverse medical aid to Ukrainian towns and cities. The following are the highlights of their work in the month of November.
Thanks to our partners at MedShare, 11 more pallets of donated medical supplies are making their way to Ukrainian hospitals in need. This was MedShare’s sixth large shipment to Ukraine via Razom since March 2022, and this committed support is helping Ukrainian doctors save lives. We also remain grateful to our partners on the ground Zdorovi Agency, who are distributing these critical supplies within Ukraine.
Another large donation of medications that are providing life-saving support to Ukrainian hospitals was contributed by our generous partners at CMMB. And thanks to Airlink Flight and again Zdorovi Agency, these medications are getting to the people who need them most, as quickly as possible.
Remember those butterfly network iQ+ portable ultrasounds that Razom procured earlier? We’re happy to report that 14 of these devices have been distributed among Ukrainian hospitals in dire need, once again thanks to our partners Zdorovi Agency. These ultrasounds are already helping doctors treat patients in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, and Mykolaiv. Portable ultrasounds are vital in providing diagnostic evaluation in emergency situations. They enable clinicians to diagnose and treat patients faster, more accurately, and in a non-invasive way.
Health care leader Henry Schein is helping us support Ukraine – and Razom is grateful. Henry Schein donated 17 pallets of hygiene kits through our dedicated partner MedShare, providing essential items and honoring the dignity of Ukrainian civilians living amid war. Razom grantee and partner Rescue Now distributed these kits, in line with their ongoing work to provide humanitarian aid in Eastern Ukraine. The individuals pictured here are residents of Kharkiv.
Our community’s financial support makes this life-saving and health-supporting work possible, and we are grateful to all of you and our incredible partners in the health care field.
And we also remain deeply grateful to our partners on the ground like Zdorovi Agency, Airlink Flight and Rescue Now, who are distributing these medical supplies within Ukraine.
Razom Health Team works on obtaining and delivering large in-kind donations to Ukrainian hospitals that need them the most. Such donations are medical equipment, furniture and supplies. Razom Health is a part of the Razom Emergency Response. If you have suggestions of large donations to hospitals, reach out to the team at hospitals@razomforukraine.org.
We are eager to share with you some good news from the Razom Health Team:
A 40-foot container full of durable medical equipment donated by Afya Foundation – including walkers, stretchers, wheelchairs, crutches, and more – has arrived at Razom’s warehouse in Lviv. This much-needed equipment will now be distributed by Rescue Now – an organization that delivers humanitarian aid, supports the elderly, and evacuates people and pets in eastern Ukraine.
Six more Butterfly iQ+ portable ultrasounds from Butterfly Network, Inc have made it to Ukraine. These will be used in hospitals throughout the Kharkhiv and Lviv oblasts, and more are en route to other areas of Ukraine. There is a strong need for mobile diagnostics throughout the country, and Razom is helping to meet this need. In addition to hospitals, we have been supporting mobile clinics by procuring and delivering some of the most-requested equipment – including these portable ultrasounds. This equipment delivery is part of our broader work to support and train Ukrainian medical professionals operating in conditions of urban warfare. Back in April, Razom helped support a MedGlobal medical mission, during which Ukrainian doctors learned to operate in hospitals dealing with an unprecedented influx of wounded patients, where diagnoses and treatments have to be made on the move.
Another vital shipment of donated medications from our partners at Americares has also arrived in Ukraine. To date, Americares has donated ten shipments of medicines and medical supplies for Ukrainian hospitals via Razom Health Team. Our on-the-ground partners Zdorovi will distribute this latest shipment, ensuring that the medications reach the hospitals and patients most in need.
It takes a village to support Ukraine and we are deeply grateful to Afya Foundation, Americares, Butterfly Network and everyone who partners with us in this life-saving work!
Razom Health Team works on obtaining and delivering large in-kind donations to Ukrainian hospitals that need them the most. Such donations are medical equipment, furniture and supplies. Razom Health is a part of the Razom Emergency Response. If you have suggestions of large donations to hospitals, reach out to the team at hospitals@razomforukraine.org.
On August 16, Razom hosted an event welcoming our key medical aid distribution partner Zdorovi Agency to the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York City to meet our US-based medical donation partners.
Zdorovi CEO Nataliia Tulinova gave a firsthand account of her organization’s work to help cover the tremendous needs of Ukrainian hospitals right now. Since February 24, Zdorovi has distributed 231 tons of medical aid through 332 deliveries to hospitals, maternity centers, and elder facilities in 22 regions across the country. Around 70% of this aid has come from Razom and its US-based donation partners.
The meeting was also a call to action. Nearly one quarter of Ukrainian hospitals have been damaged or occupied since the start of the war. The upcoming winter also poses new challenges – reliable energy sources and heating will be most critical. Ukraine’s Ministry of Health estimates that 627 hospitals will soon need generators.
We are pleased to share a few recent impact photos from our trusted partner Zdorovi Agency, which continues to distribute donated medical aid to hospitals throughout Ukraine.
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Razom Hospitals Team works on obtaining and delivering large in-kind donations to Ukrainian hospitals that need them the most. Such donations are medical equipment, furniture and supplies. Razom Hospitals is a part of the Razom Emergency Response. If you have suggestions of large donations to hospitals, reach out to the team at hospitals@razomforukraine.org.
On Saturday June 4th, we shipped and fulfilled our 1,000th order of supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Territorial Defense units, and local hospitals in eastern Ukraine! That included coordination with thousands of people across Ukraine, and crossing hundreds of thousands of kilometers to get life-saving supplies in the right hands. Your donations, your connections, your spreading the word, your support made all of this possible. We can’t thank you enough, and we humbly continue to ask for your support.
Dear Razom community,
Thank you to all of those who’ve responded to our call to spotlight the 100 stories for 100 days of war (and counting). We remain committed to sharing the stories of Ukrainians and the people and communities supporting Ukrainians, so keep them coming. In the meantime, here’s Razom’s story:
As part of the “Let’s start our hears together” campaign launched in Lviv last week, 68 AEDs valued at $81,192 are being installed across Ukraine. 33 defibrillators already made it to medical units and field hospitals on the front.
Razom’s ever-resourceful TacMed team has managed to procure 1,000 iTClamps, an innovative blood stopping tool invented by a Canadian military doctor, that are already on their way and highly anticipated by combat doctors in Ukraine. Procuring and delivering quality tactical medicine supplies is the difference between life and death in extreme, emergency situations.
Razom helped deliver 65 Starlinks to Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donestk regions so far. These devices allow our defenders and emergency responders to coordinate and communicate more reliably, and from time to time call their mothers.
In partnership with Smart Medical Aid, Razom helped procure, outfit, and deliver yet another ambulance to the front of the war. You should know that on the photo below one of the medics pictured is a doctor from New Zealand who was inspired to help how she could after the invasion.
Razom partnered with the Ukraine Prosthetic Assistance Project to develop and disseminate a brochure that answers questionsabout available prostheticsand rehabilitation in Ukraine, as well as recommendations for victims and specialists. It’s estimated that hundreds of civilians and military personnel in Ukraine have suffered limb loss since the invasion. We are proud to provide logistical support in the delivery of cutting-edge tech prosthetic components donated by Ossur in partnership with Prosthetika that will help over a dozen people who’ve lost limbs in Ukraine.
Razom’s Hospitals Team secured a shipment of 8,000 IFAKs for Ukraine by partnering with Direct Relief who donated these supplies, with more to still to come!
Thanks to Integra Foundation’s donation of 2 pallets-worth of wound care, neurosurgery, neurotrauma, and neuromonitoring supplies, Razom was able to successfully distribute much needed medical equipment across different hospitals in Ukraine (ranging from military to children’s).
The long-awaited 27-pallets of medical supplies donated by our partner MedShare finally made it to Razom in Ukraine! Thanks to MedShare’s partner Airlink, a rapid-response humanitarian relief organization that connects airlines and pre-qualified nonprofits to help communities in crisis, the entire logistics leg from California to Lviv was free.
This week, Razom Board Member Maryna Prykhodko was in her hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine and joined one of Razom’s grant recipients, Ukrainian Charity Alliance, on a trip to deliver humanitarian aid to elderly and disabled persons living just 10 km from the border with russia in the community around the town of Zolochiv and the surrounding smaller villages who were under russian occupation for three months. The community is in great need of assistance, especially the vulnerable populations.
Maryna helped hand-deliver bags of produce and goods along with Oleksii Kurtsev of Ukrainian Charity Alliance and a social worker and deputy of the community’s office. The group also visited the Zolochiv Hospital, which is under fire every day, and the Skovoroda Museum in nearby Skovorodynivka, which was destroyed by russian rocket fire. Everyone Maryna met and spoke with was so grateful for Razom’s support and Razom is so grateful for the devoted and committed work of our grant recipients who are making a positive impact on the ground in Ukraine.
A piece of good news – Razom and the Dity My Vsygnemo (“Children We Will Make It”) social movement for children with SMA (and Razom partner) conducted their first “reverse” evacuation since the start of the war. We helped a wonderful Ukrainian family, who was evacuated a few months ago, return home from abroad to Zhytomyr. This means that Ukrainians know that our victory is not far away.
Below is a roundup of events (concerts, film screenings, gallery shows, and other fun community gatherings) we most recommend you check out. Engage with brilliant voices from Ukraine and find exciting ways to support fundraising efforts. We extend our gratitude to the communities in nearly every corner of the U.S. organizing to support Ukraine in the ways they’re able.
In New York:
On Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 at 7pm at the Ukrainian Museum, Director and Producer Andrea Odezynska debuts her new feature-length environmental documentary, Return Sasyk to the Sea, which spotlights the destructive legacy Ukraine inherited as a former member of the Soviet Union. 6/10 tickets here and 6/11 here (all proceeds go to Razom).
Marci Shore, a scholar of intellectual history and a Guggenheim Fellow, will moderate the Q&A after the screening on Friday 6/10.
Starting Friday, June 10 at 6pm the online virtual screening of feature documentary “A RISING FURY” about the war in Ukraine is set for a World Premiere with the Tribeca Film Festival. The team has been filming over the past 8 years from the peaceful protest in Kyiv in 2013 to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Until June 23rd, Gallery Arte Azulejoin partnership with Mila Rabij Arts Consulting to presentYana Bystrova: Approaching a Chaotic Reality. Currently based in Paris, Bystrova is from Kyiv and is a third generation artist in her family. Her work has evolved from figurative to abstract and hybrid forms of expression, with a strong conceptual emphasis on color, the ambiguity of perception, and interpretation.
In New Jersey: On Friday, June 10 at 7pm come experience Ukrainian art with Razom featuring music and art for sale.
In Wisconsin: On Sunday, June 12 at 3pm the Olympia Brown UU Church in Racine will host a concert with music, dance, and stories to benefit Ukraine.
In Virginia: On June 24from 6-19pm the Beach Gallery in Virginia Beach is hostinga Hope for Ukraine Art Show & Silent Auction with all proceeds going to either Razom or the World Central Kitchen.
In Ohio:
On Saturday, June 25 at 7pmthe Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America will perform “Amplify The Voice: A Benefit Concert For Ukraine” at the Cleveland Orchestra with ticket proceeds benefiting Razom.
In Pennsylvania: On Sunday, June 26 from 6:30-8pm the Pittsburgh Ukrainian community is hosting a concert at Carnegie Carnegie Music Hall to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Ukraine (including Razom’s work).
Thank you so much for reading this newsletter, for keeping up to date with Razom, and for your support of Ukraine. We’re so glad to be on this journey together.
Razom has significantly scaled and refined its operations in the past few weeks and we are so excited to share how the impact of that work and your donations grows. We’ve also been hard at work advocating for Ukraine in the US and ask for your support below. Each one of us can do something for Ukraine today, this weekend, and next week, so let’s get to it!
Dear Razom community,
Razom is always here, moving the needle to get us closer to Ukraine’s victory. The war is still ongoing and there is still a lot of work to be done now that we’re 70 days in. We need your support and we humbly share with you all that we’re able to accomplish thanks to your generosity . Let’s keep it up!
Three ambulances recently made it to Donbas to help care for the wounded on the front lines of the war there. These ambulances made their way from Wales in England to Donbas in partnership with the United Ukraine Foundation in the UK. Razom also helped outfit them with tourniquets, IFAKs, other important life-saving medicines, and 30 sets of uniforms to the firefighters of Kryvyi Rih.
Here’s the final tally of the work the TacMed Team at Razom accomplished in just one week (5/2/22 – 5/7/22):
Volunteers built and shipped 8,000+ IFAKs, potentially saving 8,000 or more limbs, or even lives. The approximate value of them is $600,000.
Volunteers built and shipped 40 fully loaded tactical medical backpacks
These included 20,000 packs of QuikClot Combat Gauze, which are top of the line and extremely hard to procure these days, but of course Razom TacMed team secured them!
It took 108 volunteers to get this much work done in one week. We when we say urgent, we’re not kidding! When we say #razom (“together”), we’re serious!
We also shipped out several pallets of medical supplies, and items such as sleeping bags, stretchers, splints, tourniquets, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, and burn treatment kits.
We started an initiative to include kids’ drawings, postcards, and letters packed into the IFAKs to encourage Ukrainian heroes. If you or your children would like to contribute in this way, please send to:
ENCOURAGE Ukraine 57 Beach Street, Suite 306 Staten Island, NY 10304
Meanwhile the Razom volunteers working at the warehouse across the ocean in Ukraine managed to distribute for shipment 40 orders of aid in onlyone day. To date, Razom has processed over 600 aid requests from hospitals, field hospitals, and territorial defense units across Ukraine.
So far this month, the MedGlobal team in collaboration with Razom and UMANA have trained over 150 doctors across 6 hospitals in Ukraine totaling 40 hours of trainings. All of the hospitals visited are receiving wounded civilians and military patients, some as many as 40 such patients per day. Training topics covered polytrauma, triage, FAST exam, blast injury, among others.
One of those butterfly ultrasounds that the MedGlobal team donated saved a life this month. It uncovered pneumothorax in a patient, something that’s not visible on an x-ray.
What’s one way you can advocate for Ukraine today?
Join us in support of a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more disclosure about russian operations by US public companies. Razom signed the petition along with the Ukrainian-American Bar Association, Natalie Jaresko (former Finance Minister of Ukraine), and assistance from Andrii (Andrey) Galiuk from StopBusinessWithRussia initiative.
It’s simple – russian taxes are funding the war in Ukraine, and we need more transparency. The world is watching, Ukrainians are watching.
The Razom Advocacy Team is monitoring closely the advancement of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act in the amount of $39 billion.
This is where we need your help!
The Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act will be up for a vote in the Senate soon and we want to make sure Senators know how their constituents – YOU – feel about passing the bill. Click here to find out why this bill is important and needs your support, and click here to find out how to call your Senators and what to say to them. Let’s help Ukraine win the war, together.
People around the world continue to be inspired by the perseverance and creativity of brave Ukraine and are coming together to do what they can to help. Below is a roundup of events that fundraise for specific causes for Ukraine or expose you to amazing Ukrainian art and culture.
In New York:
Today, Friday, May 13 at 7pm at the Ukrainian Museum, Yara artists will perform and read newest poems by Serhiy Zhadan directed by Virlana Tkacz. Serhiy Zhadan was born in Luhansk oblast of Ukraine and educated in Kharkiv where he lives today. He is the most popular poet of the post-independence generation in Ukraine, the author of twelve books of poetry that have earned him numerous national and European awards, and his charitable foundation has been a formal Razom partner for several years.
On Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 at the Ukrainian Museum, Director and Producer Andrea Odezynska debuts her new feature-length environmental documentary, Return Sasyk to the Sea, which spotlights the destructive legacy Ukraine inherited as a former member of the Soviet Union. 6/10 tickets here and 6/11 here.
Online: On May 17 DevOpsDays Ukraine (part of the global DevOpsDays family) is hosting a virtual conference benefiting Razom to to discuss DevOps during crisis, incident, and business continuity management and share Ukrainian DevOps expertise.
In Texas:This weekend Art of Peace, a group of Houstonians collaborating to help Ukrainian people, is hosting an art exhibition featuring 30 local artists with part of the proceeds benefiting Razom.
In Washington D.C.: On May 17 the US-Ukraine Foundation is hosting a fundraising event featuring Eurovision star, Roxolana, titled “Taking Back Z.”
In Connecticut: On May 21, a local group of runners in Cheshire, CT are hosting a 5K run/walk in their town to fundraise for Razom. Learn more info on how to join them or contribute to their GoFundMe page go here.
In California: On Sat, May 28, the Riviera Village on Redondo Beachwill have over 14 businesses donating 20% of their proceeds to Razom.
In Virginia: On June 24from 6-19pm the Beach Gallery in Virginia Beach is hostinga Hope for Ukraine Art Show & Silent Auction with all proceeds going to either Razom or the World Central Kitchen.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and continuing to #StandWithUkraine.
You can mail a check to 140 2nd. Ave., Suite 305, New York, NY, 10003
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Oblast Competitions
In 2018 we’re planning to cover expenses for 30 teams (6 people per team) at Oblast STEM competitions. Total Budget is $4500
Ruslan Batytskyi
Director, writer and cinematographer with three completed award-winning shorts as well as a feature documentary in post-production. After starting his filmmaker career at 2009, Ruslan brings his skills in project management, process analysis and systems models (received during obtaining MA in cybernetics 2003-2008) and applies them to the creative thinking and artistic thought-processes of film. He also holds BA in Film and Television directing (from the Kyiv National University of theatre, cinema and television by Karpenko-Karyi).
“A chance to participate in The Co-Pilot project it’s an amazing opportunity to help others and to tell the story that will engage and inspire people around the world”
2017 Trip Itinerary
We are gearing up for our 2017 Mission trip. It’ll be a 3-month adventure during which we plan to work with neurosurgeons from several centers from all around the country. Dr.Tomycz has also been invited to deliver an address at the annual Ukrainian Neurosurgery Conference 2017 in Kharkiv.
May 20: arrive in Kyiv, Ukraine
May 22-26: meet with area surgeons at participating centers
May 29- June 9: two week master class with Igor Kurilets MD at the International Neurosurgery Center
June 12-13: Visit to Medical Institute of Sumy State University
June 14-16: Ukrainian Neurosurgery Conference 2017 in Kharkiv
June 19-23: one week course and master class operating in complex spine and craniocervical with Ukrainian spinal surgeons and trainees from Romadanov Institute and International Neurosurgery Center
June 24-July 7: Come back to United States for two weeks
July 10-21: two week master class with Dr. Schlegov at the Neurovascular Institute
July 24-August 4: two week master class in pediatric neurosurgery with surgeons at Lviv Children’s Hospital
August 5-18: travel to out-lying centers of excellence (Stryii, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa)
August 21-31: operate with surgeons at Central Military Hospital and International Neurosurgery Center in Kyiv
September 15: leave Ukraine for United States
Surgical Mentors and Medical Support Staff
The best way to train surgeons is by providing hands-on mentorship and assistance in the operating room. One of the primary goals of the Co-Pilot Project is the continued recruitment of high quality surgeons from United States and Canada to spend time with Ukrainian counterparts, consulting on patients and performing procedures.
Surgical Mentors traveling to Ukraine
Jefferson Miley, MD – neurointerventionalist
Jonathan Forbes, MD – skull base neurosurgeon
Matthew Geck, MD – orthopedic spine surgeon
Not all of the healthcare volunteers will be able to travel to Ukraine but they still will play an important role from home. Utilizing contemporary technology, including live streaming of surgeries and communication via social media the medical support staff will advice and mentor Ukrainian neurosurgeons as they confront difficult cases.
Medical Support Staff
Bido Patel, MD – neuroradiologist
Chandra Krishnan, MD – neuropathologist
Ginger Harrod, MD – neuro-oncologist
Advisory Staff
Tim George, MD – pediatric neurosurgeon
Jim Rose, MD – vascular neurosurgeon
Ryan Murdoch, MD – orthopedic spine surgeon
Patrick Combs, MD – craniofacial surgeon
Nestor Tomycz, MD – functional neurosurgeon
Aaron Stayman, MD – vascular neurologist
Jim Rutka – pediatric neurosurgeon
Ben Warf – pediatric neurosurgeon
Participating Centers in Ukraine Page
Since our exploratory trip in 2016 we have identified a cohort of motivated and talented surgeons who are hungry for additional instruction and eager for collaboration.
Igor Kurilets, MD (International Neurosurgery Center)
Ivan Protsenko, MD (Romadanov Institute)
Kostiantyn Kostiuk, MD (Romadanov Institute)
Vitali Ganjuk, MD (Central Military Hospital, Kyiv)
Taras Mykytyn, MD (Lviv Children’s Hospital)
Dmytro Shcheglov, MD (Neurovascular Institute)
Luke Tomycz, MD
Dr. Luke Tomycz is the newest addition to the pediatric neurosurgical team at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Dr. Tomycz finished first in his high school class of over 200 students and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA where he double-majored in biology and chemical engineering. He accepted the prestigious Dean’s Full-Tuition Scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he first developed an interest in neurosurgery. After medical school, he began his formal neurosurgical training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN where he trained under the late Noel Tulipan, MD, a pioneer in fetal neurosurgery for myelomeningocele. During his seven-year residency, he spent two years obtaining an in-folded fellowship in endovascular surgery, becoming proficient in the treatment of aneurysms, AVMs, Moya-Moya syndrome, and complex dural AV fistulae of adults and children. After this, Dr. Tomycz spent an additional year at Seattle Children’s Hospital performing a large volume of complex epilepsy surgery with Jeff Ojemann, MD. Following an exhaustive job search, Dr.Tomycz was attracted to Austin as the city was in the process of launching a new medical school at the University of Texas.
Dr. Tomycz specializes in all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery including brain tumors, epilepsy, Chiari malformation, tethered cord syndrome, CSF shunting, and intracranial endoscopy. As one of the only dual-trained, pediatric and endovascular neurosurgeons in the country, he is particularly interested in Moya-Moya, brain aneurysms and AVMs, arteriovenous fistulae, and other complex neurovascular disorders in children as well as adults. His research interests include the use of engineering innovations to improve treatments for hydrocephalus and he has published on a wide variety of neurosurgical topics. Outside the operating room, Dr. Tomycz enjoys playing guitar and hiking in the mountains. He has travelled extensively to perform neurosurgery and take part in short-term medical mission work – in Cuba, Kenya, Honduras, Ecuador, and Ukraine.
Dr. Tomycz grew up with four grandparents who told stories of their youth and taught their grandchildren the language of their homeland – Ukraine. His parents were both born in refugee camps following the second world war, and came to this country in the early 1950s with virtually nothing. His father excelled in academics and went into medicine, and both Luke and his brother Nestor followed suit, pursuing a career in neurosurgery. During a long period of study and training that lasted more than 15 years, Luke resolved to return to the homeland of his grandparents and provide the kind of high quality care that children receive in the United States.
Mariya Soroka
In 2014 at the peak of protests in the Maidan, Mariya joined several fellow Ukrainians living in New York City to create Razom, a young, energetic, and progressive start-up which seeks to amplify the voice of Ukraine to an American audience. An active member of the board, she is responsible for organizing cultural events as well as cooperating with government representatives, activists, and various civic groups and human rights organizations in support of Ukraine’s quest for democracy.
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Mariya is also heavily involved with fundraising for Razom’s projects via crowdsourcing, charity events, and online petitions. After graduating from Penn State University with a BA in Advertising and Public Relations and a dual minor in Entrepreneurship and International Studies, Mariya spent over 5 years in Manhattan working within the content marketing industry. She believes in the enormous potential of dedicated volunteers around the world working to rebuild Ukraine one project at a time.
Mariana Magala
Mariana Magala was born in Lviv, Ukraine. She graduated from The University of Chicago in 2013 and holds a B.A. in Economics and Slavic Languages and Literature. Currently, Mariana is a Strategic Analytics Manager at Interline Brands (subsidiary of The Home Depot) in Jacksonville, Florida. She specializes in analytics, business strategy, and nonprofit development. Mariana was the co-chair of a pro-bono consulting group for nonprofits in Chicago for 3 years and is currently the treasurer for a young professionals group at MOSH (Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville).
Mariana joined Razom’s Neurosurgical initiative in 2016. She is very excited to collaborate with the team and develop the initiative into a highly successful program.
