Humanitarian Center Kharkiv and Kraken J-9 host trauma training course for residents of rural Kharkiv Oblast
Specialized team of volunteers arrived from Ivano-Frankivsk to train civilians in life saving combat medical treatment.
With more than half the structures of the community destroyed during a spate of aerial attacks conducted by Russian terrorists and Putin’s war criminals against them in early March, the residents of the small town of Yakovlivka are resilient witnesses to the horrors of war.
Located in Kharkiv Oblast, a short ride east from Merefa, and less than an hour from the city of Kharkiv, the hamlet, set among gentle hills and pristine farmland, seems to have been an odd choice to be the focus of relentless Russian attacks. Five months have elapsed since Ukraine’s battle for liberty commenced, and no one has been able to answer the question as to why the citizens of Yakovlvika were targeted.
What is known however is that the scars of the nightly shellings and rocket attacks are not just visible in the ravaged Yakovlivka infrastructure but within the souls of the resilient townspeople who still reside there.
(I rely on you, the reader, to bring eyewitness news to the world. Please help me continue to publish Trans at the Front by contributing through PayPal, Patreon, Cash App, or Venmo.)
It’s this spirit of fortitude which attracted the attention of the Humanitarian Center Kharkiv, an organization affiliated with the Kraken’s J-9 volunteer relief team, to help support rebuilding efforts there, specifically those focused on helping alleviate the psycho-social suffering of the civilians who refused to cower in the face of the Russian attempts at physical and cultural genocide against them.
In late June, the outreach efforts included bringing therapy dogs into the village. Almost one month later, on July 25, the Humanitarian Center Kharkiv once again arrived in the town. Accompanying them was the 1st Ivano-Frankvisk Volunteer territory defense unit, more commonly known as the “Halychyna.”
Traveling more than 1,000 kilometers, the tactical medicine team from Ukraine’s far west was on hand to provide expert training in emergency trauma protocols including the proper use of tourniquets, wound packing, and bandaging, all focused on battlefield situations although their audience was civilians comprising mostly women and teens, with a sprinkling of kids as young as 7 mixed in
Once the visitors from the west arrived and laid out their gear, teaching commenced in the rain, on a sloped field, in the shadow of a destroyed community building. Following the protocol known as MARCH, which a is mnemonic that stands for: Massive Hemmorage, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermia, the nearly half dozen team members on hand for the course, took turns engaging with each other and the local participants, in a variety of scenarios which mimicked what some on hand had in fact faced in the wake of attacks almost five months prior.
Pairing up, at first, the war-torn attendees found moments of levity and silliness among the tragic circumstances which led to the need for the course, and as the precipitation increased in force, leading to a sloppy, muddy landscape, attention to the class only increased as the setting took on a more morose feel and thoughts turned to the brave heroes of Ukraine who were dealing with the same weather on the frontlines.
Running through the multiple exercises in a precise and thoughtful manner, it was late afternoon before the class wrapped up.
Almost immediately upon ending the medical portion, a food relief project, also sponsored by the Humanitarian Center Kharkiv, kicked off, with both basic staples such as pasta, and treats for children being distributed free of charge to those in attendance.
After the successful engagement, the medical squad departed back to Ivano-Frankvisk, but not before promising to return to the Oblast again for future training sessions.
For further reading about Yakovlivka, and the Humanitarian Center Kharkiv, by Sarah Ashton-Cirillo please click here
(I rely on you, the reader, to bring eyewitness news to the world. Please help me continue to publish Trans at the Front by contributing through PayPal, Patreon, Cash App, or Venmo.)
Fellas are missing you on Twitter, hope you’re back soon. It is so encouraging to hear from you how the brave people of Ukraine are fighting in various ways. russia already lost as you say because they showed their true colors to the whole world, no one who can choose wants to be associated with them any more.