My name is Tomas Cakulev, and I am a Dartmouth ’28 studying Neuroscience and Anthropology with a strong focus on global health. Although I grew up in the United States, my father is from Macedonia, and I’ve spent every summer of my life there. Macedonia isn’t just a place I visit — it’s home. It’s where my grandparents live, where I learned my first language, and where I first saw what healthcare looks like when essential supplies are missing.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed firsthand how under-resourced public hospitals in Macedonia struggle to meet their patients’ needs. Shortages of basic equipment — everything from exam gloves and wound-care kits to infusion pumps and monitoring devices — place tremendous strain on clinicians and leave patients vulnerable. Each summer, seeing the same shortages repeat themselves made it impossible for me to look away. With the resources available in the U.S., and with my training in global health and anthropology, I knew I could do more than observe the problem — I could help address it.

That’s why I created this fundraiser. I am organizing a shipment of medical donations through MedWish International, a humanitarian nonprofit in Cleveland, OH that provides high-quality surplus medical supplies at no cost. The only barrier is getting the equipment overseas. The funds I’m raising will go directly toward shipping and handling costs: freight charges, customs clearance, secure packing, and final delivery to public hospitals in Skopje and surrounding regions. These logistics are expensive, but they are the final step needed to convert donated supplies here in the U.S. into life-saving tools in Macedonian hospitals.

Every dollar removes a barrier between unused medical equipment and the patients who desperately need it. Your support directly helps make this shipment possible and brings essential care to communities that have gone without it for far too long.

Thank you!