A helping hand for those injured in a forgotten war

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This article was published 23/4/2016 (2260 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The state-of-the-art virtual rehabilitation technology for kids that he’s setting up in Winnipeg this week is a far cry from what little is available to soldiers maimed in Ukraine, says an IT engineer who co-founded Ukraine War Amps. It’s helping donors here connect directly with amputees and burn victims hurt fighting in Ukraine in a conflict largely forgotten by the outside world.

Gene Berezovski said since 2014 he and other volunteers have been finding help for war amputees in Ukraine struggling to survive without much of a social safety net. The organization was modelled after the Canadian War Amps that supported Ukrainian soldiers injured in the Second World War, he said.  

"When this war started, there was nothing like that in Ukraine," said Toronto-based Berezovski. He is in Winnipeg this week to install and calibrate virtual rehab software and is training staff at the new Rehabilitation Centre for Children on Notre Dame Avenue. He compared the technology to a Wii game system but with immersive video technology that projects a patient’s real-time image into virtual environments. Patients perform prescribed exercises, games and activities using body movement to control the program. It's designed to improve movement, range of motion, hand-eye coordination and balance and measures the patient's movement so clinicians can track their progress.

There is nothing even close to that in Ukraine, he said, except for the virtual rehab units donated to two hospitals in Ukraine by his employer, GestureTek. Berezovski who grew up in Ukraine said the non-profit Ukraine War Amps program is now helping 40 families through its "adopt a soldier" program and many more need help. Volunteers in Canada and Ukraine match injured veterans there directly with donors who get to see pictures of their "adopted soldier" receiving the aid they've sent, he said.

"People like to help people, not a government," said Berezovski. 

"A lot of people ask questions about corruption," said Denys Volkov, a Winnipegger who is supporting a Ukraine War Amp. "We don't want to give money to a black hole." Volkov sends at least $50 a month to Ihor Petsyk, a soldier who was badly burned in an explosion and lives in the small central Ukraine town of Zhmerynka wiht his mother.

"We know people are not getting enough help from the government that they deserve," said Volkov. Many "Ukraine defenders" injured while fighting Russian-backed separatists are having a hard time getting recognized as participants in the conflict, he said.   

During a trip to Ukraine in December, Volkov said he visited a Kyiv military hospital and met with several injured soldiers. "They're not sure what they're getting from the government when they're released," he said.

Ukraine has done little to accommodate people with disabilities, said Berezovski. Amputees struggle to find employment and get around because of the lack of accessibility, he said. Ukraine War Amps is trying to make sure that they're able to make ends meet and know they've not been forgotten.

"I've talked to Ihor and his mother," said Volkov. "They're very appreciative." 

For more see ukrainewaramps.ca or contact ukrainewaramps@gmail.com

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca