HARRT (Helena Area Refugee Resettlement Team) began in 2022 in response to the fall of the government in Afghanistan. Our country was suddenly receiving thousands of refugees in crisis from all over Afghanistan. A public meeting was held asking the community if there was capacity and willingness to invite refugees here. It was an overwhelming YES!We connected [...]
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 [...]
SETTING UP IN TURKEYThe Middle East is in turmoil: earthquake in Morrocco , floods in Libya. It has changed our plans a bit as medical first response teams in Turkey needed to leave for those new disaster zones. Our team split up. Hands On Global has sent three people to deliver supplies in Ukraine and then [...]
UKRAINE CONFLICT This morning I was on my own in Lviv, a large urban city in the Ukraine. It feels no different like being in a city center like San Francisco, Budapest, Vienna, Hamburg, etc. I’m thankful we have a place to stay in the city center as it is so easy to be just another [...]
UKRAINE CONFILCT Reflections on walking through a cemetery of fresh graves of Ukrainian soldiers.We did not start out looking for this place. Had we known we were going to come across it, we might have shied away. We just walked around a corner and there it was - we were shocked, yet drawn in. A mixture [...]
UKRAINE CONFILCT Spent the day visiting patients. Many are far from families. We brought oranges and chocolate, massaged some hands and toes. We joked and chatted through a translator and hope we eased some of the pain or at least provided a distraction. Some were clearly in a lot of discomfort. Pain is treated with ibuprofen. [...]
