Charitable medical assistance mission to the affected population in towns and villages located in the ATO zone

The City Aid Center in mutual effort with the Christian Medical Association initiated the new project – the charitable medical examinations by physicians, ophthalmologists, including distributions of spectacles, and other medical services, for the people who live near the frontline of ATO zone. The Christian Medical Association is made up of medical professionals of different specializations. All their healthcare workers have highest qualification category, have private practice or work in the state medical institutions. The Christian Medical Association exists for 15 years and all these years its staff is serving people in far distant villages and small settlements all over Ukraine, providing medical assistance to people who have no access to healthcare facilities in towns or district centers. The Christian Medical Associations brought together famous practitioners from Khmelnitsky, Zhitomir, Rovno, Kirovograd and Zaporozhye regions.

Our visit started with Mariinka. It is a small town on the border to the war; the war that took and ruined many lives and left damaged houses. This is the place where we have many acquaintances, knowing them if not by name but surely by sight. Whereas the shots are only occasionally heard in the daytime, rounds of shots in the night are not a rare case here. However, in spite of the recent insecurity deterioration in the town, our mission trip went calmly, and only at the checkpoint, we could hear gunfire bursts.

Today many visitors gathered at the entrance to the local Baptist church at Pervomayskaya street 6, which building was damaged by constant mortar rounds of the militants. Prior to the arrival of the medical staff, people arranged in lines according to the needs, as due to the large number of people wishing to get assistance, the process was pre-arranged through appointment over the phone.

The toll of people who could see the doctor that day was as follows:

1. General practitioner -39 patients
2. General practitioner -37 patients
3. Dentist-surgeon -23 patients
4. Ophthalmologist -72 patients
5. Massage therapist -14 patients
6. Blood tests sampling (sugar level) – 5 patients.

People were very thankful, as they have been waiting for such help for long time. In Mariinka, they have no healthcare facilities functioning now, medical services were not provided for long time, besides people do not have resources to buy medicines. Moreover, in order to reach the nearest medical assistance ward, people have to stand in line for many hours at the check points.  Senior citizens and children become especially vulnerable in reaching medical assistance. “The doctors have come here to render a real help for these people”, – shared Alexander Doroshenko, the dentist of the highest category. And, the result of such help can be measured by the health improved and lives saved.

Our special thanks are to the medics who spared their time and had courage to come and provide people with medical assistance. After the first trip of the medics mission to the towns at the frontline, the doctors were inspired to continue their work, and it was great to realize that this trip was not the last one and we would come over again and again to help people in need.