Ukraine Diary
First Aid Kits for Police Officers
Saving lives with two suitcases
Editor’s Note: In February, Working Nurse launched The Zhytomyr Hospital Challenge to purchase medical equipment for a hospital in Ukraine. This fundraising campaign was a huge success. In June, Olena Svetlov and I traveled to Ukraine to complete our mission.
I share excerpts from my journal in this Ukraine Diary online series.
Bringing 52 first aid kits with us from Los Angeles to Zhytomyr presented two major challenges.
First, we hadn’t computed the weight and dimensions before ordering, so it was only after the kits arrived from the local supplier that we realized transporting them would require two enormous checked suitcases, each maxed out to the 50-pound weight limit.
Second, we were warned that customs — U.S., Polish, or Ukrainian — might give us a hard time. Officials are on the lookout for people claiming to bring in medical equipment for charity when their real intention is to sell it on the black market.
The first challenge ended up being a hassle, but not impossible. We managed.
The second turned out to be nothing. No officials checked through our suitcases or even asked about the contents. (In a grace note, the female Ukrainian customs officer who stamped our passports on the train from Warsaw to Kyiv asked if we had any questions for her.)
Today, at a ceremony at the Zhytomyr police station, flanked by department leadership and officers, with press photographers snapping away, I felt a real sense of accomplishment. Through our efforts and the generosity of our donors, each member of the city’s police force now has a high-quality first aid kit to take on patrol.
Other Ukraine Diary entries:
Visiting Zhytomyr Hospital
Planes, Trains, and Eight Stuffed Suitcases
Resistance at the Kyiv Museum of History
Air Sirens and Bomb Shelters
Bucha
The Ballet Studio
Animal Rescue
The story from the Feb. 21 issue that launched The Zhytomyr Hospital Challenge.
