Ambulances for Ukraine
We raised nearly £17,000 from our Children's Christmas Carol Concerts and a fashion show event and supplied two ambulances full of medical supplies to Kharkiv in Ukraine
Ambulances for Ukraine
Our ambulances arrive at the National Medical University of Kharkiv
Our two concerts on 5 December 2022 were highly successful events with enthusiastic performers and large audiences. Great St Mary's Church was nearly full. As well as the nine primary school choirs we had a last-minute inspiring contribution during the second concert from a choir of Ukrainians who are living in the Cambridge area. Sergii Savytskyi, President of the Rotary Club of Kharkiv International, gave moving speeches about the situation in Ukraine and the response of people in the UK to it.
One of our members arranged a lively fashion show evening before Christmas, giving members and friends a chance to make some useful and enjoyable present purchases.
Our aim was to raise enough money to send one second-hand ambulance full of medical supplies to Ukraine. We have in fact raised nearly £17,000 with concert and fashion show ticket sales, donations and contributions from our generous sponsors. This has allowed us to send two ambulances. They were driven to Kharkiv via Poland in 36 hours by a team of drivers led by Sergii Savytskyi (click photo above to enlarge), President of the Rotary Club of Kharkiv International, and arrived in late December. The pictures show them outside the National Medical University of Kharkiv.
Sergii Savytskyi also spoke at our meeting on 16 August. Kharkiv, in North-Eastern Ukraine, is the country's second-largest city. It has been the location of some of the fiercest fighting of the war, but is currently in Ukrainian hands, albeit under constant attack. Sergii's presentation gave a graphic description of the appalling effects of the war on the civilian population, and of the massive efforts by Rotary clubs in Ukraine and the bordering countries to the West to provide humanitarian aid to those affected and displaced. To view his video presentation click here
Sergii returned on 24 January 2023 and spoke again about his home city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's academic capital. There are 31 university colleges with 130,000 students in a city that is normally home to 2 million people. The scrolling photos at the top of this page show our club Centenary flag in front of some of the many damaged buildings.
There is a short film about the universities in Kharkiv on YouTube - click here
On 24 January we exchanged certificates of twinning of our club with Kharkiv International, which signify our continuing commitment to routing support for Ukrainians in Ukraine through them, and to maintaining regular contact.
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Our support for Ukraine tops £32,000
back We raised funds supporting Ukrainians both in Ukraine and in Cambridge & East Anglia from several events in 2022
'What We Do' Main Pages:
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