Knowledge Impact Network Launches Coordinated Relief Effort to Assist Ukrainians

May 9th, 2022

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A committed and action-oriented group of social entrepreneurs has been brought together by Knowledge Impact Network (KIN) to assist Ukrainians in the crucial areas of housing, food and medical supplies, adult and pediatric medical care and technology. 

The group, assembled after attending KIN’s ‘Powerful Stories from Ukraine Leaders to Inspire Action’ event in March, has been exchanging a wide array of contacts who could help with vital efforts ranging from shipping food and medical supplies to Ukraine to getting donated telecom equipment to replace what has been destroyed in the bombing.

Leaders from the housing sector, medical, solar power, aviation, logistics, IT, marketing and communications were among the shared contacts. 

The efforts by these social entrepreneurs representing five initiatives –  ModiHealth, LifeForce Ukraine, DignityMoves, Grace Children’s Foundation, and V4 CAPITAL – were recently featured across various media outlets. Below is a summary of these initiatives and how continued assistance in spreading awareness, funding, or additional resources are welcomed.

Virtual Emergency Care.

ModiHealth provides free emergency care for Ukrainians and Ukrainian refugees via a HIPAA-compliant secured telehealth platform. It includes free emergency medical and mental health care, emotional trauma first-aid, and mental health support.  

“While we are also supporting the medical needs of Ukrainians virtually, our mental health practitioners are seeing an enormous need for mental health and emotional trauma first-aid,” ModiHealth CEO, Rachel Dew, DNM, PhD. says. 

“The Ukrainians we are serving are joining their telehealth sessions virtually from their places of hiding in basements after their homes have been shelled, from safer physical situations but incredibly stressful ones where families have had to flee their homes and find refuge by crowding in with other friends and family in safer regions within Ukraine, and also those who have found refuge in neighboring countries having left behind all of their belongings, home, friends and family. No matter how these Ukrainians’ circumstances differ, all of them have experienced an incredible and indescribable amount of fear, stress, and trauma. We are grateful to simply help,” Dr. Dew says. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Get the word out by sharing this link with anyone who can reach Ukrainians in need, share on social media and tag #helpukraine, or share with anyone who may want to volunteer.

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Development of a secure platform in Ukraine to apply precision technology to humanitarian first response.

LifeForce Ukraine Project, a peer-to-peer humanitarian aid matching platform, is being developed to counter-balance Russian efforts to exploit open humanitarian data on the web. The platform CONNECTS real time aid requirements with available support and resources, ALERTS civilians about supplies, shelters, transport, and dangerous situations in their vicinity, SECURES civilian and critical online infrastructure, and PROTECTS humanitarian data and locational assets and resources. It ensures a coordinated and resilient response of government and NGO resources, providing immediate support, advice and real-time content.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: LifeForce is being piloted and is seeking additional partners. Contact info@knowledgeimpactnetwork.org for more information.

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Interim housing units.

KIN and DignityMoves are exploring the possibility of leveraging high-quality, insulated, and portable prefabricated interim housing units currently being used by the homeless in California for Ukrainian refugees. These could also be ideal structures during the rebuild and recovery period for homes lost in the bombing.  

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HOW YOU CAN HELP: A feasibility study is in progress—contact info@knowledgeimpactnetwork.org to get involved in assessing the local landscape for supplying these housing units.

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Coordinating aid for children who need medical/surgical and rehabilitative care. Grace Children’s Foundation (GCF) offers its global online Children’s Resource Exchange (CRE), a HIPAA compliant platform and database to expedite and match cases of children with complex medical needs to physicians and hospitals throughout the world willing to provide donated and subsidized care. Partnering with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on its priority list of the children suffering with traumatic injuries from the war, GCF also helps identify and coordinate non-medical resources to supplement the needs of the pediatric patients being evacuated, including transportation and housing. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Get the word out with your networks about GCF’s available services for Ukrainian children. We are looking for additional physicians, primarily in the States, to join the CRE network.  We are also seeking help with transportation logistics for children who cannot fly commercially due to their complex injuries.  Contact nancy.robertson@gracechildren.org 

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Delivering much needed telecom infrastructure, consumer staples and pharmaceuticals.

Payel Farasat and Joe Farasat, Founders & Managing Principals of V4 CAPITAL, a bespoke private equity impact house, are activating their networks in the telecom infrastructure space to restore communications in Ukraine that were destroyed by the bombing. Leveraging their experience from previous aid work in India during the height of the pandemic, they are pivoting their resources to ensure that Ukrainians are now getting much-needed humanitarian aid: trauma kits, pharmaceuticals, surgical equipment, Meals-Ready-To-Eat (MREs) and hot food. .

As early investors in 3D Printing Technology, V4 is amplifying the genius of 3D Printing portfolio companies shipping 3D Printers to Ukraine that are printing CAT Tourniquets, Quick Bandage Appliers, and Drones – on the spot – to meet the high and constant demand for these items while reducing logistical time delays, transportation costs, transit theft and waste. By donating 3D printers and file parts and by supporting the 3D Printing community, more 3D printers and filaments can be sent to Ukraine – empowering the Ukrainians to innovate and print the medical and protective equipment they need in real time. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If your business has any inventories of medical supplies, canned foods, radios, repeaters, 3D printers or materials to donate, contact info@knowledgeimpactnetwork.org

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