Helena, Montana – The non-profit in Helena Hands on Global focuses on providing basic healthcare to underprivileged, displaced, and disadvantaged people.
When they learned about the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, according to Executive Director Valerie Hellerman, they immediately began considering how they may assist.
“Hands-on Global is actually a primary care medical team. We are not the emergency medical team that would first go into a disaster, but we’re the teams that follow,” said Hellerman.
Currently, they are providing assistance in Ukraine. Hellerman has visited the nation on numerous occasions, and he will return there later this month.
“Right now we’re working in Ukraine and we’re delivering complex trauma equipment and orthopedic medical supplies and doing a wound clinic. And we are leaving. I am leaving march seven for three weeks,” said Hellerman.
According to Hellerman, she has been in touch with other assistance organizations that have asked for orthopedic and trauma equipment for earthquake-affected areas in northern Syria. She pointed out that delivering this kind of relief to communities affected by conflict or natural disasters is difficult and requires advanced planning.
Hands-on Global must acquire equipment and supplies, including medication.
“Going to a place like Ukraine or if we go to Syria or Turkey, it requires a lot of medication. So we have to order them. And that usually takes three weeks. I mean, some of the places have been really great and I can get it like drops shipped in a week’s time,” said Hellerman.
Hellerman claims that any donations would be helpful and that if they can find the goods, they will send a member of their team to Istanbul to deliver them.
“The supplies come from companies usually nonprofits that work with humanitarian organizations,” said Hellerman, “I have a couple of supplies overseas where hospitals and doctors donate medications and used equipment and they’re all current. They’re not outdated, but they have these extra supplies and they supply them to humanitarian organizations.”
