BYU nursing students help Ukrainian refugees
Jun 14, 2023, 6:00 PM | Updated: Jun 16, 2023, 1:05 pm
PROVO, Utah — Ukrainian refugees in Poland just got help from a group of Brigham Young University nursing students and professors.
Under the direction of nursing professors Dr. Julie Valentine and Dr. Leslie Miles, the group traveled to a refugee educational center, called Jednosc, spending their time providing medical services and teaching classes on dealing with stress and trauma.
The students also gathered thousands of dollars worth of donated medical supplies to give to the Ukrainians.
Brenna Wilkinson, a recent BYU graduate, went with the group as an interpreter, as she speaks both Russian and Ukrainian.
Wilkinson said she learned so much about perspective and the preciousness of human life through this trip.
She recounted an experience she had talking to a woman who was describing the horrors of war her and her 5-year-old son had seen.
“To clarify that I had understood her right I said: ‘So, you’re saying your 5-year-old has seen shootings and bombings herself?'” Wilkinson said. “She looked at me with kind of a ‘no duh,’ look and she said ‘of course.'”
Wilkinson said as the war drags on and financial support starts dwindling, now is as important a time as ever to continue to donate to Ukrainian causes.
She encourages those with any connection to Ukraine to personally reach out to those affected by the war.
“It’s big for them just to have someone to listen,” she said.
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