Faster Medical Care for Women and Children

In 2023, WOF-UA paid over $65,000 to purchase electric bicycles for paramedics and social workers to support women and children in three regions of Ukraine.

The population of Marchykhyna Buda, a village in the north of Ukraine near the Russian border, has been cut in half since February 2022, as people have evacuated to escape the war. Transportation has ceased, while shellings continue. For almost thirty years, a paramedic named Iryna has provided healthcare to this community, and now 700 residents depend on her solely for their routine and life-saving care. Iryna shared that the community’s health is significantly impacted by constant stress, and nervous breakdowns have become more frequent. The people who stayed in the village have nowhere else to go. She shared that especially in such a rural area, the bike is saving lives. 

The length of Marchykhyna Buda is 3 kilometers from the center of the village to the farthest house. The round trip for Iryna is about 5-7 kilometers on foot, and she has up to 5 patient calls daily. With the electric bicycle, her travel time has been reduced threefold. Close to 100 children now live in the village, five of them born during the war. They depend on Iryna to treat sore throats, eareaches, and other medical issues.  

Iryna shared, “I’m not going to leave my village. People need me here. They have no one else to turn to for their health problems. At the beginning of the war we had no pharmacy drugs; the supply was cut off. I did my best to find medications, at least the essential ones, for the people with chronic diseases. With the help of friends and colleagues from other regions of Ukraine, we have managed to obtain a lot of what we needed.” Medication deliveries are now part of Iryna’s daily support.

"I am a social worker," says Olga, a resident of another village in the Sumy region of Ukraine. "I visit 5-6 households per day. I do everything people ask for — shopping, delivering prescriptions, assisting with paperwork. I also help with household chores — cooking and paying bills. Our stores are located in the center of the village, which is hilly. I used to walk by foot because I couldn't climb the hill on a regular bicycle. Now, it is much easier to get around."

Thanks to the 65 electric bicycles provided in three regions of Ukraine, this project now supports approximately 11,500 home visits per month.