Our friend and colleague Omar Alshakal founder and director of Refugee4Refugees has returned to his homeland of Syria after 13 years in exile. He began his journey elated at the collapse of the horrible regime of Assad and spent the first evening in the square in Damascus celebrating with fellow countrymen. Then he [...]
A family has arrived in Helena from the Democratic Republic of the Congo after 25 years in a Tanzanian refugee camp. This is a family of 10 with a grandmother, mother and dad and seven children between two and 17. The Congolese family has already been granted asylum, vetted by the U.S. State Department, Homeland Security, and [...]
Click below to view a documentary on Hands on Global's mission to deliver medical equipemnt to Ukrainian hospitals in March 2023.https://youtu.be/PMeexaA-1uQ?si=kr98PMyTnDfge-M3
First delivery happens. We meet Max who will make sure the Combat Application Tourniquets (CATs), emergency trauma bandages and antibiotic creams are delivered to the front lines. His expression of gratitude is sincere. He plays an audio text from a soldier who tells him that it is a CAT that saved the life of his brother. Max, [...]
HOG team members left with 16 medical suitcases weighing close to 50 pounds each. Each suitcase was numbered, and large signs attached with the names of the doctor, designated hospital and the city, specifying: Humanitarian Aid. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, we were unable to secure a Humanitarian Aid discount from the airline for baggage fees. The baggage [...]
Ukraine Wrap Up “The war is always in the recesses of our mind, yet we live as normal as possible. If we cry, Russia wins.” Repeating themes we were told: We are stronger and more united than ever before in our history. We have been growing economically and we work to continue that growth. We go [...]
Doctors and their Bags This second trip to Ukraine as a Medical supply courier reinforced the importance of these supplies to the work that these orthopedic trauma surgeons are doing. We are moved by how humble and dedicated these doctors are. Per Dr. Rhikter, “We had to learn how to treat this new type of war [...]
There is a shortage of medical care here as all the hospitals were destroyed. Woah … it is so hot today! It will be 97. The mosquitos are bad. We all have bites all over us. We are about halfway through our Türkiye commitment for team 1. Team 2 arrives Oct 6 and I leave for [...]
Extraordinary ways people are helping people Imagine having severe physical disabilities and because of the invasion you are making the decision to leave family and country with the likelihood you may never see them again. Crossing the border from Poland into Ukraine we met Lucas (lives in Poland near German border), Paulina (Ukrainian living in Poland) [...]
The immensity of the tasks to recovery will take years and are overwhelming. We started in another Syrian camp where there is a lot of healthcare needs and the police came and told us to leave. We still seem to not have permission to help the neediest - which are the Syrian refugees. We packed up and [...]
