Campaign launched to get vital medical aid to Ukrainian children’s hospital

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine people in the borough of Rochdale have been generously supporting the local Ukrainian community in getting aid over to Ukraine.

School children from across the borough also sent thousands of letters to children in Lviv, the city in western Ukraine twinned with Rochdale, and the numerous displacements centres in Eastern Europe to let them know that they are thinking about them, supporting them and sending them love.

Michael Buczman, who works in Rochdale Borough Council’s environmental management team and is connected to Ukraine and Lviv through his own family history, has reached out to the Hospital of St Nicholas the First Children’s Hospital in Lviv.

The hospital is facing a traumatic situation every day and need medical supplies to help children with on-going conditions and countless other children who have made their way from the east of the country who need help after being injured from missile strikes. As Lviv is seen as a safer part of Ukraine many families and children who have been displaced from areas like Mariupol, Sievierodonetsk and Kharkiv have fled to Lviv and the hospital is now overwhelmed. All of the medical staff have remained at the hospital but need support from the international community to continue their work.

Michael has teamed up with Rochdale Borough Council’s staff charity, Giving Back, to launch a campaign for donations to get medical aid over to the children’s hospital.

Inspired by the letters students in schools across the borough wrote to children in Ukraine, Michael wanted to further support children in Lviv. He said: “It was just so surreal speaking to one of the directors at the hospital and made it all the more real knowing I was talking to someone in a country that has been invaded, it really brought home the reality of the situation. The fact that the borough of Rochdale is twinned with Lviv is fantastic and it’s in times like these that it would be truly amazing if we, as a borough, stand up and show our care and support.

“Their main need is a children’s MRI scanner, the only state children’s scanner is in Kyiv. It would be lovely if we were able to send a meaningful donation to the hospital to enable them to reach that goal. It is truly saddening that they do not have access to something that we are so lucky to access here in Rochdale.”

About 20,000 children a year need an MRI scan in Ukraine. It helps doctors assess conditions with the brain and spinal cord as well as liver, kidney, peripheral nerves and joints and scans of pregnant women.  It’s a vital piece of equipment in detecting early signs of illness and can save lives.

Before the war, 1,000 children a year in Lviv needed regular access to an MRI scan for neurological conditions.

Rochdale Borough Council has kept in contact with officials over in Lviv throughout the war with letters from the Mayor of Rochdale and the leader of the council.

The borough of Rochdale is home to a large, passionate Ukrainian community who settled here after World War II seeking refuge after years of oppression under the Nazi regime and decades of oppression under Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. The majority of Ukrainians who made their way to Rochdale originally came from Lviv.

This special link was made official in 1992 when Rochdale and Lviv towns became twinned. A bridge over the river Roch in Rochdale town centre is named after the city.

Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, Councillor Neil Emmott, said: “The situation in Ukraine is harrowing and we continue to see distressing scenes. We’re very passionate about our borough’s strong link to Lviv, we’ve been in touch with the Mayor of Lviv, and we want to play our part in showing our support to them, and to the many settled Ukrainian’s living in our borough.

“Times are really hard as the cost of living keeps rising but I know that the people of Rochdale are caring people and will do all they can to help those in their hour of need.”

Donations can be made the council’s staff charity account:

Account name - Number One Riverside Giving Back

Account number - 6570385050

Sort code - 08-92-99

Direct Relief have been following the work of the hospital through the war and you can read more about the harrowing situation they are dealing with on their website directrelief.org/2022/04/ukraine-pediatric-hospital-faces-war/

For more information on the work of the hospital you can follow them on Facebook - https://facebook.com/1tmolviv/