Portugal hosted 40,000 Ukrainians before the war against Russia and has welcomed 30,000 refugees since the beginning of the invasion. While Kyiv faces all sorts of difficulties, the question of the saturation of Ukrainian hospitals arises. A refugee association in Portugal, Help-UAPT, had the idea of building a physical and psychological rehabilitation center for soldiers, 140 km north of Lisbon. A private initiative that surprises by its ambition and originality.
Au Portugalin the small village of Aldeia Nova, in the Fatima region, 140 km north of Lisbon, Ukrainian is now also spoken. This is where the first Rehabilitation Centre for the wounded of the Ukrainian front is now operating, the result of a private initiative. A first group of wounded soldiers was already received there this summer. What I want, at least for a while, is to forget the front and what is happening there, but forgetting is difficult. “, explains Maxime, 22, who was injured in the leg and operated on in his country and who hopes to resume the fight once he has recovered. The center’s function is to relieve pressure on hospitals inUkraine.
« In reality, Ukrainian hospitals no longer have enough beds to accommodate all the wounded.laments Vitali Melichuk, member of the management of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, Help-UAPT, which initiated the project. So we decided to build a physical and psychological rehabilitation centre here, in order to free up space in Ukraine to treat the most problematic cases. »
Compassion and welcome
Funded by donations from the association and private individuals, an evangelical church and businesses, the center, a former abandoned seminary, was completely renovated for an investment of 1.5 million euros. The choice of Portugal, 3,500 km from Kyiv as the crow flies, may be surprising, but Portuguese pacifism won out. It is a European country, certainly small, but with a great greatness of soul, capable of compassion and welcome.admire Angelo Netto, spokesperson for Help-UAPT. The center is the first of its kind in Europe. We must not forget that Ukrainians are doing everything to prevent war from coming to Europe. They are dying by the dozens on the front and there is nothing, neither aid nor money, that can compensate for this sacrifice. People know this.. »
The rehabilitation center has received the most sophisticated training machines and medical beds. The main difficulty is finding staff with skills adapted to the specific needs of trauma medicine. I work to enable these people to return to normal life.says Lada, a psychologist living in Portugal. All this stress caused by the war, the flow of refugees, these people who have lost everything… “The rest will depend on funding, which is once again the crux of the matter.
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