I'm Patrick O'Neil, Professor of Politics and Government at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. I've set up a fundraiser to support Save People Worldwide (SPW), a Ukrainian NGO, which evacuates disabled people from the frontline and gets them to safety and care.
SPW is a small organization with a big mission. As one of SPW's executive officers, Irina Leshchuk, explained to me, SPW partners with the Humanosh Foundation in Poland to bring people out of frontline areas who are bedridden or unable to leave their homes due to medical conditions. SPW uses a specially fitted bus (as you can see in the video above) to relocate the evacuees. Those with serious conditions are transferred to Germany for medical care, while others are relocated to better conditions elsewhere in Ukraine. Yuri, below, is just one example of the many people evacuated each month; his home in Kherson was destroyed after a missile strike. Nearly 3500 people have been evacuated to date.
But as you can imagine, none of this comes cheaply. SPW is a grassroots organization that relies on volunteers and public support to help bring people to safety. They hope to expand their capacity and save more people, and to that end, they are looking for $15,000. This will go toward:
- Transportation/fuel/maintenance
- Ambulance service
- Covering medical staff
I'm asking for two things:
- First, donate whatever you can. This money goes directly to SPW to save lives.
- Second, please share this fundraiser! The more we can get the word out, the sooner we can reach our goal and bring people out of the frontlines.
Thank you in advance for all your help!
Patrick