A report by Ole Hengelbrock
Following the evaluation trip of Cap Anamur chairman Werner Strahl, I am now in Ukraine for six weeks to plan support for hospitals. Together with our interpreter and our partner organization, I visited various medical facilities in the first few weeks and laid the organizational foundation for the new aid project.
Cap Anamur is initially involved in two hospitals in the east of the country
Svitlodarsk Hospital is located in the middle between Luhansk and Donetsk, directly on the so-called Zero Frontline. For several months, this region has been under constant shelling. In the neighboring village of Myronivka, where we support a second hospital, some of the heaviest fighting in this war took place in the spring – with many casualties on both sides. Certain areas are still mined. Numerous residents moved away, but then had to return because life in the West is much more expensive.
Hospitals in the conflict zone, in no man’s land
Both hospitals were attached to the town of Debaltseve, which is about 25 kilometers away. When Debaltseve was contested, all official structures collapsed. This also included supplies and deliveries for affiliated hospitals. As a result, there has been no support in the form of medicine, materials or salaries for eight months. Other institutions such as schools or kindergartens are also affected. Pensioners and chronically ill people currently do not receive benefits because Svitlodarsk and Myronivka are located in no-man’s land, i.e. they are not under any authority’s sphere of influence.
Debaltseve is located in the territory of the separatists.
The two parties to the conflict are thus directly and actively confronting each other here. The situation is difficult and unpredictable. It could flare up again from one minute to the next. Nevertheless: life and work go on. And so a good half of the hospital’s staff still shows up for duty, even though no salary has been paid for so long. It is wonderful to see how the staff treats the patients with so much sympathy and care. Other employees have moved away from the region because they have to try to earn money elsewhere. But once the staff is gone, the hospital operation also collapses.
What does Cap Anamur’s assistance look like?
Our aid has already begun: In addition to the payment of salaries for the hospital staff, we are currently preparing a delivery of urgently needed medicines and materials. This also includes reinforced plastic sheeting for the shattered window panes. New windows cannot be installed yet, as shelling is still in progress.
We have also found a local partner, the East Ukraine Human Rights Group. The young lawyers are trying to build pressure on the government to fulfill its duties in the future and support the medical facilities again. Cooperation with a local organization is very useful: people know how to help themselves much better than we can. But they need a partner by their side. They have now found it with Cap Anamur.
What worries us is the approaching cold season. Many window panes in hospitals and residential buildings were destroyed. It happens again and again that electricity and hot water fail, because the nearby power plant is under fire. The food supply situation is becoming more drastic. In addition, patient volume increases during the fall and winter seasons. But the parties to the conflict seem to be digging in. So the war will not subside for the time being, no matter what is discussed in Minsk.
I’m glad to have been able to meet people and find ways to take the next steps with them.”
About Ole Hengelbrock:
For almost two years, social worker Ole Hengelbrock supervised the street children project Pikin Paddy in Freetown/Sierra Leone for Cap Anamur. After the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic, the 27-year-old’s most important task was to protect the children entrusted to his care from the virus. Within a few weeks, the young man from Borgloh has set up a new project with the shelter for Ebola orphans and contact children.