Evacuation chair for students with disabilities in Ukraine

Hi, my name is Tatiana Bogachenko and I am an Australian academic of Ukrainian background. I have just celebrated my 40th Birthday and those who know me well also know that the work I do is highly driven by the passion to make this world a better place.

My dream today is to support students with disabilities in higher education in Ukraine with a safe escape in case of emergency, such as a missile attack or fire. Unfortunately, Ukrainian shelters remain mostly inaccessible for people with mobility challenges. I cannot imagine what it’s like for students to have to study not knowing how they can be protected when air raid sirens sound and attack is imminent.

This fundraiser has been created to pay for an evacuation chair for Lviv Polytechnic National University (LPNU) that hosts the No Limits Centre for students with disabilities (https://lpnu.ua/en/no-limits). The Centre provides opportunities for these students, including war veterans and those displaced by the war, to gain higher education or retrain to have a hope and a future. Last year, Professor Larysa Klymanska from LPNU visited Perth WA as an Australia Awards Fellow. This is when the need for such chairs in Ukraine was established to assist stairway evacuation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzssS3NWsc).

We will be ordering from EnSafe.One that has an office in Krakow, Poland, which is only 327 kms from Lviv by road. The quote for one chair is 1320 euros plus 70 euros customs clearance, which amounts to around 2400 AUD. We hope to raise enough for at least one chair. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity!