Young people around the world have jumped into action to help alleviate the suffering resulting from the devastating Russian-Ukrainian war. Daniel Razgonyaev, one such example, is a first-generation Ukrainian student at the Stony Brook University Honors College. As a pre-medical student majoring in chemical engineering with a speciality in tissue engineering, Daniel has spent many hours volunteering at his local hospital, enriching his knowledge of public health and patient care. With this experience, as Daniel entered the era of the global pandemic, he was overcome with worry for hospital systems’ ability to care for the massive influx of patients. However, while thinking about the ups and downs of the time, Daniel’s worry transformed into a powerful drive to aid those less fortunate. He decided to look beyond donating to large-scale charities, with an aim of personally ensuring that those affected by a crisis could receive the aid they needed. In turn, along with Alvin Baranov and Niyazi Kyose, Daniel co-founded American Students for Health (ASH), which works to donate medical supplies to hospitals, with a focus on making sure that children in Eastern Europe have access to the best possible care. Since its establishment, ASH has launched three successful campaigns. To start off, the team raised money for a Bulgarian children’s pulmonary hospital, which resulted in the purchase and delivery of critical cooking equipment to support the nourishment of the children. Afterwards, ASH raised $1,200 to purchase surgical optics for pediatric cardiac surgeons at the Kyiv Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. These experiences compelled Daniel to expand his efforts to aid those in need, and with the turn of global events in 2022, Daniel and his team shifted focus to the war-torn grounds of Ukraine.
With the news of the Russian invasion flooding global headlines, Daniel felt terrified. He was scared not only for his country but also for his family members living in Ukraine. Early in the invasion, Daniel’s grandmother, a Kyiv resident, experienced a great horror when shrapnel from a Russian missile landed right by her apartment window. After the incident, with the help of family friends, the windows in Daniel’s grandmother’s home were boarded and a semblance of safety was restored. Nonetheless, the chilling sounds of rapid gunfire and detonating explosives were still a present force. Thinking back to the events that occured in Crimea in 2014, Daniel’s worry for his relatives and people grew exponentially. With the situation looking incredibly bleak, Daniel was not sure how he could take action fast, despite all his desires to help in any way. Thankfully, after witnessing the roaring cries of support from around the globe and, due to the fierce dedication of Ukrainian soldiers, feeling that his loved ones had some hope for protection, Daniel felt inspired. The raw resilience and determination of his people charged Daniel with purpose to continue his organization’s goals – making sure that children in Eastern Europe have access to the best possible care.
In July 2022, Daniel and his team met together and devised a plan to raise funds for a Ukrainian children’s hospital. Through Daniel’s aunt, the team became connected to the Wings of Hope organization, an Ukrainian-based charity which would prove to be effective at jumpstarting their campaign. Specifically, Mrs. Lipska, the leader of Wings of Hope, communicated with the team over the course of a few months, providing them with essential guidance and support. After some discussion, ASH decided to focus donations to Lviv’s Early Childhood Pediatric Center at St. Nicholas’ Hospital. Daniel and his team’s main rationale was that due to the war’s violence, a large influx of children would be sent to this large pediatric center. However, with the shortage of medical supplies as well as loss of parents, these children faced high risk of disease and sickness. In August 2022, ASH started their new campaign, contacting the hospital to inquire what supplies or machines were in critical need. Vein finders, which are devices used to make veins more visible for administration of medical care, were the top choice due to their ability to greatly aid in reducing trauma and pain for infants and neonates. Given this information, ASH began their campaign to raise the funds to purchase a vein finder for the hospital. As of now, the campaign has successfully raised $2500 and purchased the vein finder, which upon arrival, is ready to be shipped to Lviv’s Early Childhood Pediatric Center!
At Lviv’s Early Childhood Pediatric Center (St. Nicholas’ Hospital)
To drive these campaigns, within ASH, there are two primary groups – research and communications. Daniel notes that these subteams work extremely well, as the members are motivated by the drive to help their ancestral home countries. Nonetheless, for their past and present campaigns, the team did encounter outreach challenges, especially in proving that they were a legitimate organization. This was further complicated by temporal and linguistic differences. Additionally, along with the work in setting up a GoFundMe and their website, ASH faced significant challenges in raising funds. For their current mission, the first few weeks went well but slowly lost traction. Despite this, Daniel and ASH held steady and kept spreading word of their fundraiser, continuing to work towards increasing its visibility.
As a college student who understands the struggle of wanting to help but not having the appropriate financial resources, Daniel imparted advice to those in a similar situation. Specifically, Daniel views that as a baseline, if one wants to help, apart from donating money or physically volunteering, it is essential to take time to “read up and understand what is going on” and try to empathize with the Ukrainian people. Further, Daniel emphasized the importance of sharing this knowledge with one’s friends and family. Ultimately, to start collectively making an impact, there must be active acknowledgement that the Russo-Ukrainian war is occurring. Through increased awareness of this conflict, there can be greater monetary aid along with stronger interest in physical volunteering.
Through Daniel and his team’s work, along with the extraordinary support from the Wings of Freedom, ASH continues to look towards the future. Whether for Ukraine or beyond, Daniel and his team will continue their efforts to bring medical supplies to those in need, especially children. As Daniel stated, in the midst of crisis, “children and infants cannot easily make a case for themselves.” Therefore, through ASH, Daniel is committed to lifting the young population’s voices and issues, ensuring that children and infants will not be left behind