Source article (in Danish ): www.elsassfonden.dk/nyheder/legater/stotte-til-ukrainsk-rehabilitering/

Two rehabilitation centers in Ukraine and Moldova have received new and upgraded equipment as a result of the decision by the Elsass Foundation to provide extraordinary aid to the victims of war with cerebral palsy.

When the war broke out in Ukraine in early 2022, many businesses and foundations promptly brainstormed to figure out the best way to offer their help and support. The same happened at the Elsass Foundation.

In the spring, the foundation opened its doors to house Ukrainian refugees in some of the apartments on its property in Charlottenlund. Shortly thereafter, the foundation's board decided to provide separate financial support to rehabilitation centers with a large number of Ukrainian refugees with disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

So far, the support has benefited two centers: one is the National Rehabilitation Center in Moldova, which has received a large number of refugees with disabilities such as cerebral palsy. The other is the Kozyavkin Rehabilitation Clinic in Lviv, western Ukraine, which has also opened its doors to a large group of internally displaced Ukrainians, most of whom have cerebral palsy.

For Olha Kozyavkina, the vice-president of Kozyavkin Medical Group, the Elsass Foundation's donation has been of great significance.

"The aid has been invaluable for our many children with disabilities during difficult times. The foundation's support for the purchase of equipment has meant that our patients have already taken great strides towards a higher quality of life in post-war Ukraine. We are very grateful for this," she points out.

Practical assistance

For the Elsass Foundation, it has been crucial that the support for the centers be converted into very concrete assistance. Therefore, the funds have been earmarked for the purchase of treatment equipment, toys, and other practical measures in daily life, such as wheelchairs. This is according to CEO Peter Lindegaard.

"It has been obvious for us to support something that is specifically aimed at cerebral palsy and in a way that is operational - i.e., by paying for equipment that is absolutely necessary and otherwise could not be financed," he explains.

Apart from the research area, where the Elsass Foundation is involved in close international collaboration and supports international research projects related to cerebral palsy, it is new for the foundation to provide support outside Denmark's borders.

"We have chosen to make an exception because of the very special and tragic situation that Ukraine finds itself in, and which deeply affects us all," he explains, emphasizing that the foundation otherwise exclusively supports people with cerebral palsy in Denmark.