Recently, three important events for the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya have taken place in Switzerland – meetings of our charitable organization’s partner associations. Thus, members of the Committee took part in the general meeting of the Association Parasolka (Switzerland), the NeSTU Association (Network Switzerland-Transcarpathia/Ukraine) and the coordination meeting of the European Public Forum.

Together with the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya, representatives of the Social Abilitation and Rehabilitation Centre "Parasolka" and the Vilshany Orphanage, the institutions that the Association takes care of, joined the meeting of the Association Parasolka. Participants discussed the functioning of the institutions during martial law and the challenges caused by the emergency situation in the country. It is important to note that the joint ability to mobilize resources, make optimal decisions, and focus on urgent issues has become the key to successfully overcoming current difficulties following the results of the military year. As part of the meeting and in order to share useful experience, the participants visited Swiss institutions for people with disabilities, their workshops, and learned methods of selling the products produced there. These practices have been partially tested in Transcarpathian institutions, where work is underway to further socialize and expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

It is significant that this year’s meeting of the Association Parasolka was held in the monastery building, where many initiatives in support of Ukraine were implemented last spring.

From the very first days of the war, the Network Switzerland-Transcarpathia/Ukraine has been lending a shoulder to Ukraine and Ukrainians by supporting the humanitarian mission of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya. From providing essentials to internally displaced persons to participating in the purchase and arrangement of a shelter in Tyachiv, NeSTU is part of the Committee’s key area of activity during the war.

This year, the European Public Forum, as an international network calling for solidarity in important social processes, spoke about Ukraine – the war, the challenges it causes, and the consolidation of global civil society as a counter to human rights violations by the Russian Federation. Thus, a peaceful rally in support of the prisoners of the Putin regime, including a friend of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya, human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, was held in front of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern. Read the details HERE.

In general, the meeting of the partner associations of the CO "MACZ" in Switzerland demonstrated the support of the international community for Ukraine and the solidarity of the active public with the Ukrainian people. The effectiveness of cooperation between non-governmental institutions during the war and its responsiveness to the needs of the affected civilian population, especially its vulnerable segments, was rightly recognized. The Committee and its international partners have a lot of work ahead of them, but the year of war has helped to develop an algorithm for joint actions, deepened ties and expanded the areas of cooperation between the public sector of Ukraine and Switzerland, which is definitely a guarantee of fruitful work for peace and victory.