Gold shares insights from 10-day Ukraine trip
Heartbreaking scenes, but also moments of hope, regularly moved Alethea Gold to tears during her 10-day trip to Ukraine last month.
The SmartAID Australian branch co-ordinator – and global goodwill ambassador for the Israeli tech-focused aid organisation – told The AJN upon returning home to Sydney that one of the toughest moments was visiting a new cemetery in Lviv.
“It was only just set up, and has the bodies of more than 400 young people,” Gold said.
“I just completely broke down walking through it.
“It was such a reality check about what this ongoing war by Russia is doing.”
Based in Lviv, but visiting surrounding regions, and Kyiv, Gold personally delivered portable incubator cribs to a maternity unit, and other medical equipment that SmartAID is providing to more than 60 hospitals.
“Due to the stress that pregnant women in Ukraine are under, hospitals are delivering more premature babies,” she explained.
“So when the sirens go off, those babies can be put into the portable incubators and taken to the bomb shelters, and that’s been a godsend.”
Gold has since learned that an Iranian-made missile, fired by the Russians, struck nearby a hospital she’d visited, and another hit a warehouse used by a local charity SmartAID partners with, “but thankfully, all involved got to a shelter and are okay”.
“Areas like Odessa and Kherson have been hit to pieces, and while people in Lviv and Kyiv are trying to regain some normality, everyone knows where the nearest shelter is.
“For me, that situation has such a similarity with how Israelis live.”
Gold also visited displaced Ukrainian children who are using 200 SmartAID ‘smart class’ laptops that have software that connects them with their original school teacher, and classmates, vital for their mental health.
“Many families from hard hit areas – especially in the east – temporarily moved to other countries, or to a different area in Ukraine they feel is safer, so these are for them.”
SmartAID is also providing headlights for Ukrainian doctors to use during blackouts, many solar powered generators, and is partnering with Karcher to supply powerful cleaning equipment.
CEO of SmartAID, Israeli Shachar Zahavi, added, “We’re continuing to supply the high-tech aid in our toolbox, to try to fill in any gaps, and maximise the impact of aid.”
MOROCCAN EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
SmartAID has also begun supplying devices, like solar powered phone chargers with built-in water purifiers, to rural areas in Morocco’s earthquake disaster zone.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR
And last week, SmartAID sprung into action in Israel, providing humanitarian aid there since Hamas’ murderous October 7 attack.
“Specialising in disaster relief, we are immediately distributing essential relief items including food, hygiene and dignity kits, socks, toys, blankets, and tablets,” Gold said.
“In addition to material aid, we are providing technical support to local charity first responders.
Donations over $2 to SmartAID Australia are tax-deductible.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS
To find out more about these projects, email Gold at goldie@smartaid.org or visit http://www.smartaid.org, and to donate, click on the donate button, and then donate from Australia.
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