Iola Rotarians used their meeting Thursday to sort medical equipment and supplies donated by Allen County Regional Hospital. Some of it will find its way to the front lines of Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the war has created more than 4.1 million refugees, resulted in at least 2,600 civilian deaths — likely a significant undercount, as official figures are impossible to ascertain — and fueled insecurity around the world. Barbaric accounts of Russian war crimes surface daily.
The need is clear. And so about a dozen Rotarians were busy unpacking boxes and sorting the medical materials into three groups: expired, in-date and battlefield supplies. Volunteers then color-coded the materials and created an inventory of each box’s contents.
The contents will be sent to Tulsa, Okla., the home of Medical Supplies Network, Inc., a service project of Rotary District 6110. The non-profit corporation sends free medical equipment and supplies to developing nations and crisis areas, both around the world and domestically. Around 80 Rotary chapters in the region, of which Iola’s chapter belongs, help maintain the project.
All battlefield supplies, which included wound care kits, first-aid equipment, respiration supplies and emergency medical equipment, will be loaded into a container and shipped to Ukraine. It is slated to arrive this summer. God willing, the war will be over by then. In the case it’s not, the supplies will certainly be welcome.
