News

Andy White, who is a nurse coordinating NHS-funded community care for our learning disability service, has recently travelled to Ukraine to provide support at the Magala orphanage.

Prior to Russia invading Ukraine, Magala orphanage was caring for 12 children. It now cares for over 50 children, who are mainly boys with learning disabilities and some with additional physical disabilities.

Andy funded the trip himself and travelled with an NHS volunteer group of 5 other learning disability nurses. The group travelled with Teams4U, who are a development charity that takes essential products to areas in need and enables individuals or teams to get together and experience giving aid to support vulnerable children and their families.

“I have supported various charities over the years but wanted to provide direct action to support vulnerable people suffering the war in Ukraine. Working with Teams4U provided an opportunity to help on the ground and see for myself what would be needed for the long-term development of a specific care service in the country.

“I travelled with a group of NHS volunteers who connected through Teams4U who did the groundwork for our mission including where we would stay and who would guide us in Ukraine. We flew in and out of Romania for safety and were looked after there by a young professor at Suceava University. We were dropped off at the Ukraine border and I felt quite nervous to be entering a country at war.”

Andy and the NHS volunteers were guided to the orphanage in the west Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi which is around 500 miles from the nearest frontline.

“We were met with children of varying ages and abilities roaming outside the old building. The boys were excited to see new people and we spent a couple of days with the children who were lacking positive interaction due to the orphanage struggling to cope with the number of children in its care” comments Andy.

Although knowing Ukraine is a country at war, Andy still found the lack of person-centred care in Ukraine challenging.

“The staff were overwhelmed, there are little resources to occupy the children, limited toys are often locked away, and the communal clothes are worn by different children each day. Most distressing was the lack of basic interaction with the children so whilst I was there, I spent as much time as I could with them, doing simple things like holding their hand, going for a walk around the grounds, singing songs and offering comfort. It was profound; I came away feeling like I had made a bit of difference, but there is much more needed over the years to come.

“I feel very humbled to have spent time with the children and see the challenges they and the orphanage staff face, all of which is compounded by the fact they are in a country being attacked by a global superpower. I will stay connected with my fellow volunteers and Teams4U to see what we can do. One positive outcome that our group has achieved already is funding for a skilled play-therapist to work in the orphanage for a year.”

Tim, Beth, Sharon, who are all Welsh learning disabilities nurses, Sorena a local Ukrainian official who arranged access to the orphanage, Andy White,Trust learning disabilities care coordinator, Ruth, who is a nurse lead for learning disabilities in Wales, and Nadya, a Ukrainian translator.