“Unbroken” rehabilitation center and Kyivstar mobile operator start project to heal children’s burns

The Ukrainian "UNBROKEN" rehabilitation center with Kyivstar mobile operator and the charity platform dobro.ua launched a joint project called "Children's Hope: Helping Children with Burns."

What is the problem?

Statistics show that 12,000 children suffer burns every year in Ukraine. This number is growing every day, as almost all mine-blast wounds are followed by severe thermal injuries.

The lack of necessary conditions and medical equipment forces Ukraine to send the most seriously burned children abroad.

"We stabilized and treated children after the disasters in Brovary, Vinnytsia, Chaplino, Dnipro, and Bakhmut. These are just some of the cities from which we had to rescue children with burns.

Burn injuries are among the most difficult to treat, and medical equipment plays a crucial role in emergency care.

Due to the lack of necessary medical equipment, we are forced to ask for the evacuation of our young patients to Western countries. Our goal is to make sure that we provide all the necessary assistance in one place, at home, in Ukraine," said Oleh Samchuk, CEO of the First Medical Association of Lviv.

What is the solution?

"We want to build such a burn service in Ukraine so that every child with burns can receive highly qualified and effective medical care in Ukraine, rather than traveling outside their home country for such treatment," said Viktor Liashko, Ukraine's Health Minister.

Since the first days of the full-scale war, the National Rehabilitation Center "Unbroken" based in Lviv's First Medical Unit has become one of the main shelters for children affected by the war.

The hospital admitted over 250 children with mine-blast injuries and burns from all over Ukraine.

As part of the Children's Hope project, the mobile operator and the charity platform dobro.ua are teaming up with the National Rehabilitation Center "Unbroken" based at the First Medical Association of Lviv to help children with burns.

How does it work?

Kyivstar allocates over $260,000 to purchase modern medical equipment for the hospital's burn unit and calls on its subscribers to join the charity initiative.

The funds allocated from the operator will be used to purchase a unique burn bed, an anesthesia station,
surgical instruments, and laboratory equipment for medical tests.

This will expand the ability of doctors to provide full assistance to the affected children. The company's employees were the first to raise the majority of money to purchase a defibrillator, which is already in operation at the hospital.

"Children's Hope is an example of how small donations of 5-10 hryvnias can help thousands of Ukrainians. For almost 5 years of cooperation, Kyivstar subscribers have proven that nothing is impossible for Ukrainians.

Together with the charity platform dobro.ua, we have implemented more than 57 projects for the purchase of medical equipment worth more than 14 million hryvnias. We are pleased that this year we are expanding the program and can help, including children with burn injuries," said Iryna Hutsal, director of the dobro.ua charity platform.

The initiative is raising funds for a laser to treat burn scars in children. Each prepaid subscriber can make a one-time transfer via SMS to 450025, join the project by donating from a bank card on dobro.ua, or activate the Kyivstar TV Charity package, which will transfer 100 hryvnias per month to support the project.

Rubryka has previously met with Zoryana Hasii, the communications manager of the Nezlamni Center. She introduced our team to the people who implement the UNBROKEN project — a solution that changes the approach to prosthetics and rehabilitation in Ukraine.