BETHESDA, Md. — As war continues to be waged in Ukraine, displacing millions of residents and leading to the destruction of homes and cities, volunteers in the DMV used Saturday to gather medical supplies and organize special kits to be sent to the country to help those in need.
The DC chapter of the Ukrainian Girl and Boy Scouts of Plast gathered at Westland Middle School in Bethesda to put together emergency medical kits (EMKs) that will be sent to eastern Europe and put in the hands of people close to conflict.
Chapter president Andrew Demidowich told WUSA 9 that the EMKs were a simple way to give potentially life-saving resources to people who could experience dangerous conditions.
"We know that during a time of war, certain medical equipment is in short supply," he said. "Hopefully, they never have to use it but God forbid a window gets blown out and somebody gets cut or some other horrible injury that they have at least some basic first aid kit measures.”
In total, Demidowich said volunteers put together more than 600 EMKs Saturday. Many of the items that were packed came from donation efforts at hospitals and nearby high schools.
The group plans to meet again next weekend in hopes of sending over even more supplies.
"This is kind of our small contribution that we can make not only tangibly but emotionally to support them and show them that we really care," he said. "It’s lightweight. It’s easy to transport. It doesn’t go bad and even if you don’t use it this week, you might need to use it in a month.”
Demidowich is a second-generation Ukrainian American whose grandparents were born in the country.
He still has some distant family members in Ukraine and his daughter attends a virtual Montessori school that is based in the capital city of Kyiv.
After seeing his daughter's teachers in positive spirits earlier this year, Demidowich told WUSA 9 that the war has brought plenty of concerns for them.
"The teachers were just doing singing and art classes a few weeks ago and now they’re telling stories where they’re hiding in bunkers," he said. "We still fear for their lives every day.”
Moving forward, Demidowich said he was looking forward to helping out even more Ukrainians as they continue to experience hardship in the face of war.
"This is kind of our small contribution that we can make," he said. "They’re in our prayers and in our hearts and in our minds.”
For more information on how to donate to Plast's EMK effort, visit this link.