After volunteering in Ukraine twice, Will Rogers now hopes to raise funds for the war-torn country in an ambitions fundraising initiative.
Rogers, a Cloverdale paramedic, returned in March from volunteering with Frontline Medics in the Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine.
“I was helping in the medical support of civilians and wounded soldiers from the current conflict,” said Rogers. “We facilitated transfers from close to the frontline back into the hospitals in the cities and to the train stations.”
Rogers spent two weeks transferring wounded soldiers from pick-up points along the front back to medical centres in and around Dnipro. Every other day, they’d transfer wounded soldiers from the hospitals to medical trains. The wounded would then travel by rail to western Ukraine and, for more seriously wounded soldiers, on to Poland and Germany.
“The trains were straight out of World War II,” he added. “Everything there moves by train.”
He almost had to go into Bakhmut, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Frontline Medics and their Ukrainian partners were being very cautious with foreign volunteers after an ambulance was blown up Feb. 3 in Bakhmut, killing one of the volunteer medics.
“Everyone was a little on edge about the whole thing,” explained Rogers.
He said he enjoyed the work over there, despite the risk.
“It was worthwhile. Mostly the people were just happy to see somebody from the outside world that bothered to come and help them out.”
In his work group, Rogers met another Canadian, an Estonian, a Norwegian, and a couple of Americans.
“We transferred patients in ambulances and in vehicles that were rigged up as ambulances,” he explained. “We had pickups, a Toyota Land Cruiser, a Nissan Pathfinder. And we had two ambulances, one from England and one from Scotland.”
One day when Rogers was near the front, a vehicle in the group he was travelling in got stuck in the mud on the edge of a minefield. They all got out to help move the vehicles and when they were ready to get going again, Rogers spotted a tripwire at his feet.
”I looked down and noticed it,” he recalled. “I asked the soldier (who was with us) what he thought it was and he said, ‘I don’t know, but I’m not touching it.’ I said, ‘Sounds good.’”
After his first trip to Ukraine with Frontline Medics, Rogers decided to start a GoFundMe to raise money to help out those in need. He said now he’s elevating that to a big-picture fundraising initiative where he takes that donation money and invests it.
“I’m going to establish some kind of foundation fund,” explained Rogers. “It will basically be invested and the money that it earns over time will be sent to Ukraine. Depending on the timing, it’ll be either helping out with the war effort, or relief within the war effort, or maybe some reconstruction or something like that.”
Rogers said most of his efforts are still in the ideas stage right now. He wants to chat with others and get the word out. “I want the fund to be a money generator,” he added. “Money will be deposited into an investment account and I have someone that’s going to invest it for me. The earnings that it makes over time will be used to give to NGO agencies in Ukraine.”
Rogers said his ask is a big one. He’s hoping people can commit a nominal amount of money, about $2 a week, for a decade.
“If people could commit $100 a year for 10 years, then I think this will work,” he explained.
Rogers is hoping that one million Canadians commit to donate. If that happens, the fund will have one hundred million dollars in its first year.
“If it’s successful, then it could be used as a model for the future.”
If others buy into his plan, in a decade or so he’s hoping to use earnings from the fund to help boost tourism from Canada to Ukraine.
“When the war ends, I’d like to set up some sort of subsidy (for people) to travel there,” he said. “The people of Ukraine really need the help.”
To donate to Rogers cause, visit his “Aid For Ukraine” GoFundMe. He’s also accepting e-transfers via cdnukraine100@gmail.com.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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