"The new year for the Charitable Organization "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" began with the active start of the implementation of plans that were included in our work calendar at the end of last year. Along with the established forms of activity, this year the organization will also develop new areas of work, in particular in social entrepreneurship", – this is how we started 2022. We planned it back in December 2021. There were many plans – both long-term and short-term, but not a single item about war. Now we are reporting on the year that was not planned, but looking ahead, we will say that we have done more than we could have imagined in February.

About statutory activities. After the "COVID" break in September, the annual meeting of the Presidium of the Association "Parasolka" was held offline and was attended by members of the Charitable Organization "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" and colleagues from Switzerland – the President of the Association Andreas Schmid, Vice President Beat Hunziker and Member of the Chantel Moore Association. During three days of fruitful work, members of the Presidium visited the Vilshany Children Orphanage, the Social Abilitation and Rehabilitation Centre "Parasolka", the volunteer headquarters of the CO "MACZ", met with the Mayor of Tyachiv Ivan Kovach, the Vice-Rector for Research of the Uzhhorod National University Ivan Myronyuk, the leadership of the regional Department for Social Protection of Population, held several working meetings.

At the same time, in September, in Paris, there was held a partnership meeting of the CO "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya", which was attended by the Director of the Committee Nataliya Kabatsiy and the French friends of the organization: our volunteers of the Humanitarian Battalion of Paris, the Director of the SAFE Association Catherine Duplessis, the Director of the Fondemos Association Jean-Reno Fayeau and the French volunteer of the Committee Jacques Duplessis.

Issues related to the risks and challenges of the war have been added to the current tasks and directions of activity of CO "MACZ". In the new conditions, members and partners of the charitable organization focused their efforts on supporting the affected civilian population, mobilizing forces and resources to meet humanitarian needs. Currently, our team has added a dozen volunteers, who made the full functioning of our "humanitarian battalion" possible.

About the support of internally displaced persons. This area of work has been actualized since February 24 and has evolved along with our understanding of the shelter for people affected by the war. First of all, the Committee focused on the citizens who came to Uzhhorod – they needed to be warmed and fed. Hundreds of tons of food, hygiene products, clothes were received by IDPs directly at our warehouse and through the shelters organized in the region. For example, in April, the volunteers of our humanitarian headquarter promptly organized the distribution of more than 4,000 food kits. Obviously, there were needs similar to those in Zakarpattia in other regions of the country, so we sent there the humanitarian cargoes that we regularly received from foreign partners.

In autumn, it became clear that there is nothing more durable than something temporary, and that a blanket and a food kit will not save from the cold of the coming difficult winter. Therefore, with the financial support of the NGO "Terre des Hommes" (Germany), the center for temporary accommodation of internally displaced persons "PrykhystOk" was opened in Uzhhorod, where six families with children have been living since November. A similar initiative in cooperation with the local authorities was implemented in Tyachiv (Zakarpattia region), where about 50 people are accommodated. We also contributed to the founding of a temporary shelter "Selyskiy Shelter" in the village of Nyzhnye Selyshche, Khust district. Further joint work is aimed at the integration of IDPs and the creation of communication bridges between them and the communities that have accepted new residents.

In addition, the Committee continues to support important initiatives for internally displaced persons from colleagues from NGOs "Happy Children", "Strength of Uzhhorod", "Volunteers of Zakarpattya", "IO Alliance-Charity" (Kharkiv), "Center for Joint Development "Active Community" (Luhansk region), "Hand of Help" (Zaporizhzhia), NGO "Milena" Search and Rescue Detachment" (Kharkiv), NGO "Natalia Levina Foundation" (Zaporizhzhia), INGO "Foundation of Ukrainian and European Initiatives" (Kyiv), CF "Free People" (Kharkiv), Public Holding "Group of Influence" (Kyiv), other volunteer centers, as well as relevant areas of activity of state institutions.

About medicine. Under any circumstances, we never forget that since 2000 we have been a medical aid committee. Therefore, one of the main activities of the team was to support and assist health care institutions and the population with the provision of medicines and necessary equipment. Medicines, equipment, bandages were delivered to hospitals in Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Donetsk and Kherson regions. Substantial support was received by health facilities of Zakarpattia, the workload of which increased significantly with the flow of IDPs.

In total, since February, the Committee has distributed purchased medicines worth UAH 11 million, received about 50 trucks of medical supplies and equipment. A major project was the cooperation with partners from Canada, thanks to which Ukraine, through the CO "MACZ", received a huge cargo of anesthetics, which the regional health departments helped to send to the places of greatest need. Also, probiotics from French partners are still being delivered to the regions.

In addition to medicines, our hospitals received medical beds, other special furniture, ventilators, crutches and wheelchairs, walkers, orthoses, as well as ultrasound devices, spirographs, defibrillators, oxygen cylinders, etc.

In the summer, at the expense of patrons from Switzerland, 11 brand-new ambulances were purchased in France, which were subsequently sent from Uzhhorod to hospitals in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk regions.

About logistics. The directions of distribution and, accordingly, delivery of humanitarian goods from the CO "MACZ" and partners, without exaggeration, covered all regions of the country. By the end of the year, the number of acts of humanitarian aid transfer has exceeded the mark of one thousand pieces. Some of the cargoes were picked up by fellow volunteers and delivered to citizens and institutions, some moved with drivers who deliver cars to soldiers at the front. Here it is worth mentioning our good friend, the writer Andriy Lyubka, who took responsibility for the delivery of important cargoes. Nova Poshta helped a lot with logistics – the company opened a bonus account for our organization, from which we paid for dozens of shipments across Ukraine. And besides all this, there were many trucks that covered thousands of kilometers to ensure that the aid for the victims of the war was timely. Today, the logistical component of the of the Committee’s humanitarian mission is an extensive network of communications with carriers, volunteers from different parts of the country, experience in building routes, including international ones.

About energy. Generators appeared on our agenda long before it became the main household need for every Ukrainian. The Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya was among the first to bring power sources for social and medical institutions in the de-occupied villages of Kyiv Region. From May till now, the Committee with the support of foreign partners has purchased, received and promptly distributed more than 150 generators of various capacities and other similar devices. They ended up where they were most needed – at the frontline with our defenders, in health care and educational institutions, places of compact residence of refugees in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk regions... This area of work is still relevant, so our search continues.

About "Parasolka" and Vilshany Children Orphanage. In the whirlwind of events, we continue to take care of institutions that by default are priorities in the activities of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya. During the year, the Vilshany Children Orphanage received as much support as it was necessary for both its children and staff, as well as guests from the territories affected by the war. In the spring, the institution hosted children from Kryvyi Rih and Zhytomyr. The children from Zhytomyr returned home at the end of the summer, the children from Kryvyi Rih will stay in Vilshany for the nearest future.

Despite the circumstances, we have not abandoned the "Kosytsia" initiative, designed to create opportunities for socialization and self-actualization of young people with disabilities in Vilshany, to support their daytime activity and employment. As part of the project, a basic version of the website of the future online store has already been created, and work on the design and estimate documentation for the cafe-shop has been completed. In accordance with previously approved plans, creative workshops continue to work in the children orphanage. And, as the end of the year showed, the candle-making workshop is extremely popular and in demand.

Social Abilitation and Rehabilitation Centre "Parasolka" celebrated its 13th birthday this year. The institution continues to fulfill its mission of creating comfortable conditions for living, rehabilitation, socialization and self-development of young people with disabilities, and since the beginning of the full-scale military aggression of Russia, children and staff of the institution have joined the volunteer activities.

In addition, since this year the Training and Resource Center has been functioning on the basis of "Parasolka". Currently, the center’s specialists are working with target audiences in the region, studying their needs, forming the appropriate staff.

About educational component. At the beginning of the year, together with Swiss partners, the topics of the lecture module, which was mastered by the students of Uzhhorod National University during the semester, were agreed upon. This is part of the implementation of a trilateral cooperation agreement signed in September 2019 by the CO "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya", Uzhhorod National University and the Association "Parasolka" (Switzerland). We continue to involve in the educational process qualified trainers and lecturers from Switzerland – specialists in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, special education, etc. In the spring, students majoring in "Special Education" and "Physical Therapy. Occupational therapy" were supposed to have an internship at the Vilshany Children Orphanage and the Social Abilitation and Rehabilitation Centre "Parasolka", but due to the circumstances of martial law, this educational block was postponed. At the same time, applicants for higher education in online mode listened to lectures on the medical and pedagogical aspects of working with children with developmental disabilities in the context of neuropediatrics from Swiss practitioners Oswald Hasselmann and Margreet Duetz Schmucki. Cooperation with clinical psychologist Thierry Liscia (France), who specially visited Uzhhorod in autumn, will contribute to the deepening and expansion of professional training of future specialists.

The martial law made adjustments to the format of implementation of the educational component of our activity, but did not affect its content. We continue to work on creating an effective system of personnel training to ensure the provision of high-quality social and therapeutic services aimed at socialization and improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.

About human rights protection. The war turned out to be a significant threat to the rights and freedoms of citizens. Ukrainian and foreign lawyers document crimes of the Russian army against peace and security of mankind on the territory of Ukraine. The Committee continues its human rights activities. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, our lawyer Yevheniya Melesh was advising both Ukrainian citizens and foreign students, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers almost 24 hours a day on how to go abroad, travel safely and find places to stay outside of Ukraine. Together with our colleagues from partner NGOs abroad, we advocated for the inclusion of not only Ukrainian citizens, but also third-country nationals who stayed in Ukraine before February 24, as well as stateless persons in temporary protection in the countries of the European Union. During the year, the lawyer of the CO "MACZ" repeatedly joined the discussions of urgent issues of human rights protection, in particular, the creation of a safe environment for children and the observance of the rights of vulnerable categories of the population during martial law. Equally important were joint initiatives of civil society representatives in the direction of creating political and legal conditions for volunteer activities.

About public and information and communication activities. 22 years of activity of the CO "MACZ" were a guarantee that at the beginning of the war the organization became a kind of guide for Western media in Ukraine during the martial law period. The Committee helped to pass the relevant registration procedures for journalists from Germany, France, Slovakia, who then in their materials showed the European audience the military reality that was very close and about which the world should know the truth.

Along with a bunch of current affairs, the members of the Committee joined the III forum of ideas and solutions Re:Open Zakarpattia, organized by the NGO "The Institute for Central European Strategy" with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This year’s event was dedicated to the role of Zakarpattia as a reliable rear of Ukraine in the war with Russia, a bridgehead for European and Euro-Atlantic integration and future reconstruction of the country. The Director of the Committee Nataliya Kabatsiy moderated the panel "How Ukraine can build a military rehabilitation system: Zakarpattia as a historical health resort of Europe" and was a speaker on the implementation of effective practices of IDPs integration within the panel moderated by Kateryna Irkha, the communicator of the CO "MACZ".

In addition, the Committee has traditionally become a regional partner of the Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, which this year is also dedicated to the challenges of war and is subordinated to the theme "State of Emergency".

About international cooperation. Our network of contacts continues to expand. The Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya works on joint humanitarian projects with the SAFE Association (France), the NGO "Terre des Hommes" (Germany), Network Switzerland – Zakarpattia / Ukraine (Netzwerk Schweiz – Transkarpatien / Ukraine NeSTU), the Charitable Organization "Austria stands with Ukraine", the NGO "Sydhavsøerne hjælper Ukraine" (Denmark), NFS – Nurses for Solidarity (Austria) and others. The end of the year was marked by the inclusion of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France) as a partner of the Committee, which finances the project to support doctors and rescuers of Zaporizhzhia, who save the lives of residents of frontline settlements every day. We are grateful to everyone who responded to our requests and came forward with their own initiative to help.

About plans for 2023. In March 2022, the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya turned 22 years old. At that time, we were already working in the conditions of a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. This is a difficult but not new experience. The skills gained in 2014-2015 have been multiplied by 10, and now we understand that we are capable of more. Actually, we will test these skills in 2023. Our plans for the new year are created and adjusted by the war, but we have no doubt that, as before, together with friends and partners, we will respond with dignity to the needs of today and new challenges of the current situation.

So, without stopping, we continue to work!