The war in Ukraine has left deep wounds not only on the body of our land, but also in the souls of people. Many Ukrainians have lost their homes, loved ones and access to quality medical care. And it was in this dark time that the Ukrainian-Israeli mission of medical volunteers Frida appeared, like a ray of hope.
FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission aimed at helping the civilian population. Volunteer doctors provide Ukrainians affected by the hostilities with high quality medicine.
The idea to create the organisation was born in February 2024, at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the project’s founders Roman Goldman and Mark Nevyazhsky. It all started with the emergency missio of a small number of doctors who responded to the call of the aforementioned ideologues. The doctors could not stand aside from the horrific arbitrariness of the Russian occupiers and saw it as necessary to provide any medical assistance to the affected population.
As of June 2024, Frida Ukraine has more than 700 volunteer doctors. Over the 2.5 years of the full-scale bloody war, the organisation has conducted 162 evacuations of affected citizens from hotspots, distributed 49 tonnes of medicines and provided more than 64,000 consultations to Ukrainians in need.
Every month, volunteers make 4 to 7 visits to communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and other regions.
Every month, volunteers make 4 to 7 visits to communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and other regions. Their mission is to provide emergency and routine medical care to vulnerable categories of civilian Ukrainians, namely children, people with disabilities and lonely elderly people affected by the hostilities and occupation. More than 30 doctors of various specialities are conducting the examinations. At each mission, volunteers deploy a mobile medical centre equipped with modern equipment, including ultrasound, ECG, ophthalmology equipment and even a dental office.
Frida does not just heal the body, it heals the soul. Volunteers treat each patient with understanding and compassion, giving them not only medical care but also the warmth of human support.
The Ukrainian people are immensely grateful to Frida volunteers for their dedication, courage and sincere desire to help. Patients express this gratitude during each mission.
“Your work is an invaluable contribution to our common struggle for victory and peaceful skies over Ukraine. Frida is not just a mission, it is a symbol of humanity, indifference and the victory of good over darkness’ – these were the words the volunteers heard during the last mission on 8 June to the village of Medvyn, Kyiv region, which is currently home to a large number of IDPs.
