DIGEST № 54
National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (NC URCS)
May 2019

Emergency situation in Rivne region
Due to the high precipitation in the Rivne region, settlements were flooded. The greatest effects of these weather conditions were felt in Rokytnivsky, Sarnensky, Bereznivsky and Zarichnensky districts. On May 18, the chairman of the Rivne regional branch of the URCS with her colleagues visited Rokitnivsky district to assess the needs of the local population. The lack of drinking water was identified as the most urgent problem. 49 families received humanitarian aid such as drinking water, condensed milk, canned food and pasta.

Recognizing Nurses
The Florence Nightingale Medal is the most prestigious international nurse award. It has been awarded to 1,517 nurses around the world. In Ukraine, 23 nurses have been awarded medals for exceptional mercy in post-war and peaceful times before 2011. This year, on May 12, a date marking the birthday of Florence Nightingale, two more Ukraininan nurses were awarded medals for their work and the assistance they provided to those affected by the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. They are Ms Valentina Basova, head of the Dnipro and Khortytsky regional branches of the Red Cross in Zaporizhzhya region, and Ms Natalia Yakovleva, chairman of Stanytsia Luhanska district Red Cross branch in Luhansk region.

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
The World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on the 8th of May throughout the world. Theme-related events took place in most regions of Ukraine. In Mariupol city (Donetsk region), the Red Cross Festival was held. The participants of the festival were able to join the First Aid workshops, get acquainted with the direction of the organization’s activities, and receive reference materials. The Lviv regional branch held a concert and a First Aid master-class in the megamarket “Epicenter”. After the events, the participants received sweets and “Epicenter” vouchers worth 200 UAH.

First Aid Trainings
Thanks to the FA instructors of URCS, more and more people are mastering the skills of first aid. In particular, employees of the State Service of Marine and River Transport attended a FA master-class in Kyiv. Similar classes were held for schoolchildren in Zaporizhzhya and students in Bila Tserkva city. Also, regular first aid training courses are being held. In the Luhansk region, a 12-hour course was carried out for medical students, and in the Donetsk region, the training was provided to employees of the public enterprise "Donbass Water". In the Kyiv region, the staff of Boryspil airport also mastered first aid skills. By the way, at the end of December, one of the flight workers that participated in the training saved a woman who was in a state of clinical death.

Psychosocial support
Events on psychosocial support for vulnerable groups of the population are on-going. In the Donetsk region, the children of Mirnohrad visited the play "Bremen Musicians". Volunteers from the Luhansk region visited the patients of the tuberculosis sanatorium and brought gifts to them. In Kharkiv region, children of Krasnograd city learned how to cook burgers. In the Dnipropetrovs'k region, the Kryvy Rih branch held a small workshop for children on how to make sweet bouquets. In Poltava city, people from vulnerable groups of the population participated in a master class on making wreaths. Some elderly people in Odessa city have learned how to make decorative flowers.

Capacity building in response to the emergencies
On the 19th – 20th of December, a workshop tagged "Volunteer Management and Its Role in Emergency Response" was held in Kyiv. It was conducted within the project "Promoting the role of volunteers and the population in Civil Protection (ProVoice)". The purpose of the event was to improve the training concepts in volunteer management, including volunteer management during emergencies. The event was attended by URCS volunteers and staff, representatives of partner organizations (Volunteer Firefighters, Motochelp), and the Danish Red Cross. Future training courses will be aimed at volunteer leaders in order to provide the basic tools and knowledge necessary for managing volunteers in emergency response situations. After giving presentations on the practical experience of URCS and partners in reacting to emergencies, the participants created a draft agenda for the training course.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
On 7th – 8th of December, a training course for teachers and methodologists took place within the framework of the renewal of IHL Course for secondary schools. The event was attended by members of the working group of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on the development of teaching and methodological support for the IHL course. Also, the representative of the URCS National Committee participated in the event. During the training, the program of the course and the subsequent steps of its implementation were presented. The trainers described the fundamentals of international humanitarian law and the key topics of the manual, as well as a number of practical exercises that would help students to learn the material better.

Mine risk education
URCS, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross, is implementing a project to reduce the effects of weapon contamination and explosive remnants of war for the fourth year, the main task of which is to increase awareness of inhabitants of settlements in the conflict zone in the east of Ukraine. In educational institutions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions regular informational sessions are being held. In particular, on the 10th of December in Luhansk region representatives of URCS conducted an open lesson on "How to protect yourself from explosive objects".

Measles outbreak in Ukraine
URCS volunteers continue to inform children and adults about the prevention of measles. So, in Odessa city, IDPs women learned about the symptoms and scheme of vaccination for the prevention of the disease. In Vinnytsia city, important information was provided for pupils of grades 5-11 of city schools. In general, volunteers are involved in the fight against the outbreak of measles in 5 regions: Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk. In the near future, thematic meetings are planned, as well as classes, lectures and communication with doctors, parents, children, representatives of state government bodies.

The URCS mobile health units
The mobile health units of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and «Médecins du Monde» go to places on the line of delimitation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine that are not visited by doctors and ambulances. Mobile units of the Red Cross have better diagnostic capabilities due to ultrasonography, and the units of the “Médecins du Monde” have a female health specialist and a psychologist. Recently, partners exchanged their locations. Now, beneficiaries will receive better assistance, and partners will more rationally use project resources. To carry out the exchange, a great deal of work was done to study the needs of the population of the conflict zone for qualified medical care. The locations exchange became possible thanks to intensive partners’ negotiations and the involvement of experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Restoring family links
On May 15, in Mykolaiv regional branch, a meeting was held between the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the regional branch of the URCS and members of families affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine. The event was organized by the URCS tracing service, which extensive experience is primarily used for restoring family links broken during wars and armed conflicts. The theme of the meeting was “The strategy of restoring the income of the population affected by the conflict,” which was presented by the ICRC staff. Participants learned about a program that provides opportunities to rebuild long-term income where families are offered one-time cash assistance to open their own business.

The popularization of URCS membership
On the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the URCS volunteers initiated the Facebook flashmob #UkrainianRedCrossMember aimed at promoting membership in the National Society. To support a useful undertaking, a person has to become a member of the URCS and post his/her photo with a membership card and instruction for friends on their page, passing the relay. In the first few days, tens of users from different regions joined the flashmob. The initiative continues to expand by promoting a conscious membership.