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We had the pleasure of the company of Gerry Darichuk and his wife, Barbara, at our noon meeting on Monday. While living in Calgary, Gerry and his four sons run a large engineering company in Airdrie. Gerry has an entrepreneurial spirit and thrives on challenges. We had the privilege of hearing about how he has responded, thus far, to one of them: how he, with others, have become involved in the lives of Ukrainians, settling evacuees in Calgary and getting medical equipment to the frontline in the Ukraine. Gerry’s connection with the Ukraine in fact goes back to his forefathers and those of his wife, who were Ukrainian. But fast forwarding, the focus of Gerry’s presentation was on how things transpired after Russia’s invasion into the Ukraine in February 2022. The very next month, two important things happened in Canada: the federal government introduced legislation related to evacuees from the Ukraine, and Gerry received a phonecall, asking whether he and Barbara would take in the very first family to arrive in Calgary, from the Ukraine. He collected them from the airport on 20 March 2022, a mother and her two daughters. From that time, assistance given to the many Ukrainian families arriving in Calgary has become well coordinated. The Calgary Communities Support Program for Ukrainian Evacuees is up and running, supported by a collaborative effort of a number of community organizations, including a PDG of Rotary and the Calgary North Rotary Club. Gerry shared many interesting facts, gathered through his experiences. One is that a common injury suffered by soldiers on the frontline is bleeding from shrapnel injuries. It is critical to stop the bleeding at medical centres 6-8km from the frontline, prior to transporting the injured soldiers to the nearest hospital. It was in relation to the need for this type of equipment, that in December 2023, Gerry packed 700lbs of tourniquets, bought with a Rotary grant (Global, District, Club), and headed for the Ukraine. Air Canada offered him free transportation of the equipment, if he bought an air ticket. Done deal! A lovely example of how Rotary connects the world at so many levels is that in Warsaw, Gerry met up with a Rotarian who had been one of four Ukrainians, on a Group Study tour, hosted by his club, Calgary North, 22 years previously. Gerry highlighted a very active non-profit that organizes volunteers who come to the Ukraine from all over the world – called UNITERS – united volunteers. It was through Uniters that Gerry made his way to Kiev on a military truck. A wonderful example of how life happens while you’re busy planning: Gerry planned to hand over the supply of tourniquets in Kiev and head back to Canada. However, a senior medical officer asked whether he would like to go the frontline. It took him just a split second to say yes. Gerry spoke about seeing ‘graveyards’ of equipment, about being in Kharkiev, the home city of the first Ukrainian family whom he and Barbara took in, in 2022, about being struck by how young the majority of the soldiers were – a hard-hitting experience being when he met a soldier who looked just like one of his grandsons. We were filled in about drones and their roles in the Ukrainian – Russian war. There are three types: surveillance/reconnaissance that check out the area to which they are flown, those that drop bombs, and those that kamikaze into a target. Of particular interest was to learn that a retired farmer, living in the Olds area, makes a large percentage of the surveillance drones used in the Ukraine warfare. Gerry was told that when a Russian drone flies overhead, the soldiers know that have four hours to pack up and vacate that spot as it will likely be targeted by the Russians. Dispelling any myths about Ukrainian soldiers living in tents and trenches, is the sad fact that they house themselves in the homes of families who only had time to pack a few clothes in a suitcase and leave, when the war broke out. These homes are filled with all the possessions of those families, from wedding photographs to crystal glassware, crockery, cutlery, everything … left just like that. Having addressed the WHAT he did and WHERE he went, Gerry then zoned in on the WHY. Gerry spoke about the impression made on him by the Rotarians he met in Kiev (“It blows you away to hear what they are doing”), the work done by the Uniters non-profit, in coordinating voluntary assistance that comes from all over the world, and the kinds of help offered by other countries. He highlighted the role played by Austria, that takes in children of 6 years and younger, focusing on their mental and emotional well-being, attempting to mitigate the trauma these children have experienced, of war – many having lost members of their family. So WHY did Gerry get involved? Because he said to himself, “I think I can do something”. The presentation ended with the next step in Gerry’s quest to make a positive difference. He is raising $100,000 to buy rehabilitation equipment for a hospital in the Ukraine. His own club, Calgary North, is in on this. His ‘ask’ of the Rotary Clubs of Medicine Hat is $2000 each, in the form of type C grants – as recommended by District Governor Kurt Kowalchuk. Combined with a Global grant, the target will be reached. This equipment is sorely needed at the hospital Gerry visited, where he witnessed the ravages of war on the bodies of the young and older soldiers, civilian men, women and children. The point that Gerry brought home, is that war not only results in death but the mental and physical injuries of the hundreds of thousands who survive and who urgently need rehabilitation in order to be reintegrated into society. The presentation was very well received and was followed by numerous questions and discussion points. A show of hands indicated that the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat is ‘in’! Gerry, you are a Rotarian second to none. Thank you for sharing your Ukraine-linked journey in such a riveting way. You have our respect and our support. NOTE:
A big thank you to Dieter and Kitt Brand, who hosted Gerry and Barbara Darichuk and organized two innovative social events for them to meet Rotarians in Medicine Hat.
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