A traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Changhua County has raised NT$555,000 in a two-day campaign drive to buy medical supplies, humanitarian aid materials and an ambulance for war-torn Ukraine.
Sophie Chiang (蔣宗琴), a Taiwanese living in Poland, on Jan. 18 wrote on Facebook that she launched the effort to help Ukraine in collaboration with the A Court Clinic, a medical franchise with branch hospitals throughout Taiwan.
A Court Clinic became involved in fundraisings for Ukraine after Cai Chuan-te (蔡全德), the medical director of the franchise’s main branch in Changhua’s Lukang Township (鹿港), heard about Chiang’s effort from Hsinchu branch director Chai Shen-yen (翟慎言), the clinic said.
Photo courtesy of Sophie Chiang
Chai was Chiang’s classmate at National Chengchi University, it said.
Chiang said Ukraine-based aid group Med Help Dnipro is to use NT$150,000 from the funds raised to procure a medical ambulance for Dnipro, an eastern Ukrainian city under Russian shelling and missile strikes.
The vehicle is expected to be operational next month and would bear the clinic’s logo, she added.
A Poland-based charity founded by Rafal Tomala received NT$100,000 to provide food for Ukrainian children at affiliated orphanages, while the same amount went to a hospital in Kharkiv region that treats 7,000 civilians and soldiers injured in Russia’s invasion, she said.
The hospital’s name and location were withheld to protect its staff and patients, as Russia might seek to attack the site, she said, adding that she learned of the hospital through her contacts in Ukraine.
The remaining money would be used to furnish medical supplies for other hospitals that serve communities affected by the war, she said.
Chiang, who works as a tour guide and Chinese-language teacher, said she moved to Warsaw after marrying a Polish man, adding that some of her business contacts and students are from Ukraine.
Warsaw sheltered the first wave of Ukrainian refugees after Russia started the invasion last year, and their plight inspired many residents to start grassroots efforts to help them, she said.
Chiang began the fundraising effort while visiting Taiwan to spend time with her ailing father, she said.
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