Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine hasn’t ended and neither will our support for those in need.
We have therefore reset the end date of our fundraising and will continue to push it out for as long as is needed.
Thank you New Zealand for all your support. 💙💛
Kiwi K.A.R.E is in the manufacturing business and we need your help.
We are funding the fabrication of wood burning stoves and water heaters from old recycled electrical water cylinders.
As you’ll see in the video, the old cylinders are stripped down to access the core tank. This is then cut and welded into various sized ‘burjuykas’ (stoves) and ‘voda nahrivach’ (water boilers).
We put out a call on social media for donations of old water cylinders and they have come pouring in from all over Ukraine.
We now need your help to keep production going ahead of the harsh winter and the inevitable targeting of civilian infrastructure, such as power and water facilities, that we know will come once again this year.
💙We are making the stoves for $160
💛and the larger water heaters for $260
If you, your workmates, or perhaps a club you belong to, can get together and fund, what has been described as, a lifesaver by families who received one last year, we can keep up production.
Last year we manufactured and distributed 280 units. They were hugely successful and we have requests for over 1000.
Our goal is to make 1200 so please help us spread the word.
Thank you! 💙💛
At long last, we have our hands on the medical aid generously supplied by many New Zealand organisations and private individuals.
This has been another long haul in both distance and time –thankfully arriving just ahead of winter. We will distribute the medaid to frontline hospitals and medical units immediately.
The arrival of the container coincides with the inaugural deployment of ‘Manaaki’, the Kiwi K.A.R.E ambulance, next week. Ann Fournier, a Registered Nurse and retired Canadian Army Captain, was busy stocking it up with a wide range of medical necessities yesterday.
This heralds the start of the Kiwi K.A.R.E Outreach Programme which Ann will manage initially, working in Red Zones and newly liberated areas, serving those Ukrainians who haven’t seen a heath professional for many months and, in some cases, years given the length of time south east Ukraine has been under occupation.
Have a glance at our short video which covers the journey of the medial aid from Auckland to Kyiv.
Our heartfelt thanks to all those who donated aid, assisted in loading, and managed the international logistics. You’re a wonderful bunch of humans.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
Congratulations on your persistence with this project, and best wishes to Ann, may she travel safe.
Gillian.
Thanks Gillian. We will release an interview with Ann soon, talking about her clinical focus and the areas where she will travel. Thanks for your continued support. Regards, Tenby
We have now handed over the New Zealand ambulances to frontline Ukrainian medical units.
Six of the seven ambulances have been repainted in camouflage; the unpainted one will become the Kiwi K.A.R.E mobile health unit, managed initially by Canadian nurse, Capt Ann Fournier, RN, to provide general health care for those in newly liberated areas, who haven’t seen a health professional, in some cases, for years.
Each ambulance has a name in Te Reo, reflecting one of the seven key principles of Tanga, or Māori worldview: Rangatira (Leadership); Manaaki (Caring); Kotahi (Unity); Whanau (Relationships); Kaitiaki (Guardianship); Wairua (Spirit); and Tupuna (Ancestry).
We have named the Kiwi K.A.R.E mobile health unit Manaaki (caring seemed most appropriate in the circumstances for our vehicle).
I’m grateful to Paora Stanley, CEO o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi of #Tauranga for their advice on the names and for their blessing, from afar, of the ambulances and all who will travel within them.
The names have resonated significantly with the Ukrainians. These warrior vehicles will operate proudly in the service of freedom for Ukraine.
Most importantly, thank you to all those who have supported us in this mahi. Particularly, Hato Hone St John, Wallenius Wilhelmsen shipping, Volvo Car Poland, and our many New Zealand and International supporters.
Please keep your support coming so we can keep the humanitarian and medical aid wheels rolling.
Well done to you all for another carefully thought out and executed project.
So proud of you...go safe.
Gillian.
Thanks Gillian - we were well supported by a great multinational team. Thanks for your continued support 💙💛
Great stuff.
This is amazing work. A huge thank you for supporting Ukrainians.
Thanks for your comment, Chris. It’s always great for the team to know we are supported. Your encouragement is very appreciated.
The New Zealand Ambulances Have Made it to Ukraine.
An epic journey that started mid-last year with a phone call to St John Ambulance from a beleaguered Kharkiv, has ended with seven decommissioned New Zealand ambulances crossing the Polish border into Ukraine.
The ambulances left New Zealand on 4 May and a combined Ukrainian / U.S. / NZ team retrieved them from the Port at Antwerp, Belgium. The 2,500 km drive from Antwerp to Kyiv took us via Hamburg, Germany, to fill the vehicles with medical aid from, Kiwi K.A.R.E partner, UA Never Alone, a great bunch of displaced Ukrainians who run a big, professionally managed, humanitarian hub.
Over the next three weeks the ambulances will be fully serviced by our Kyiv based partner, UA Day by Day, before handing them over to medical units and Red Zone hospitals.
The plan was always to keep one or two within the Kiwi K.A.R.E fleet as mobile health clinics to staff with Doctors and Nurses in newly liberated areas. I sincerely hope we can keep to that plan however we need to continue to raise funds to run all our vehicles.
Thanks for all your amazing support New ZeLand and friends around the world. If you can continue to support us, we truly appreciate it.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
Another great achievement, Tenby.
Of course we shall keep supporting these efforts.
Stay safe.
Gillian.
Thanks so much, Gillian, your continued support, and that of many generous New Zealanders, is absolutely tremendous and we are very grateful to you.
My huge thanks to a wonderful bunch of Tauranga folk for packing and shipping a container of medical aid, and to all those around New Zealand who donated so generously to enable us to fill the container.
Joe, Tracey, and Gabbie, without you guys this would not have happened. Thank you for managing the warehouse and the shipping admin so professionally Joe. And Sally, Marty, and Sam - thank you for helping load the container, you guys are an amazing family.
And huge thanks to Johnnie Davison of On-Send Logistics and Gerry Claudatos of Nautica Shipping for all your work with shipping logistics.
There is not enough space here to thank all those who donated, please know we are very grateful to you.
I did want to mention Doctors Julian Lofts and Michael Klaassen who sourced a significant volume of medaid. None the least of which is an anesthetic machine from St Mark’s Surgical Centre in Auckland.
Thanks also to Tauranga Conmunity Nurse, Julie McRae for all your hard work. Andrew Graham and Cameron Weitz of ProPharma, Kim Kempthorne of Medical Aid Abroad, Kane Turner of KT Medical Serices, and the indefatigable Lyndon Tamblyn of Beyond Disaster Relief.
And thank you New Zealand for all your support. If you feel you can donate to keep the wheels rolling, we would hugely appreciate your support.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
Great work
300 Heaters and Water Boilers Provided Ukrainian’s Relief During the Winter.
I’ve been back in Ukraine for a few weeks now and we have our new 12 tonne truck en route to deliver much needed medical aid to beleaguered Kherson. More on that soon.
I am also catching up on all the great work that happened during their winter.
One important thing was the manufacture and distribution of heaters and water boilers.
Huge thanks to all our wonderful supporters who funded Kiwi K.A.R.E to enable this to happen. Our Ukrainian partners tell us it was literally a life saver for some.
I have come back to many messages from organisations who received a heater and many say it made the harsh winter bareable for them.
As you’ll see in the video, the stoves aren’t pretty but they are very effective, well made and robust, and, at about $40 NZ Dollars a unit, great value for money.
My big thanks my friends and partners Oleksii Tsapenko and Олег Купцов of Ukrainian NGO, UA Day by Day, for making this all happen.
So, thank you New Zealand for all your support over the winter.
Kiwi K.A.R.E is a much larger organisation now and we sure do need your continued help to keep the wheels of humanitarian and medical aid rolling.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini 🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
Dear friends, we have extended our goal to raise $500,000 until August. We now have a larger and more operational capable entity and we will review this date again later in the year.
Thank you for all your support to enable us to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Ukrainian’s living under siege in the red zones.
This is great work you're doing.
The link for Twitter doesn't seem to be working for me however.
Thanks for your support, Murray, and your feedback re the twitter link. We’ll get it sorted immediately. 💙💛
Over the past five months, while the team have been doing great work in Ukraine, back here in New Zealand, we have been reconstituting KiwiKARE with both an enhanced capability and more funds.
Last Thursday in Christchurch was the final of 22 speeches around New Zealand, as part of fundraising for KiwiKARE.
My thanks to all the many organisations and individuals who arranged speaking events, and to the hundreds of people who made time to attend.
Last Thursday’s event at the Christchurch Club was organised and hosted by Tim Howe of, business advisory firm Ocean Partners, with the closing remarks given by Hon. Gerry Brownlee, MP.
My thanks to Tim, Gerry and the wonderful team at the Christchurch Club for your friendship and support.
Our, all absorbing, project of getting the seven decommissioned Hato Hone St John ambulances to Ukraine reached a milestone with the units now on the water as of last week and starting their 30,000km journey to Europe.
We have already started planning for their arrival, and how we intend to distribute five or six to medical organisations, while keeping one or two as mobile health clinics for Kiwi K.A.R.E to operate in the red zones.
We have had tremendous support with this project by many organisations, none the least of which is St John themselves, together with shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen and freight forwarders, Nautica Shipping and Logistics.
We are still collecting medical aid at our warehouse in Tauranga and this will continue for the foreseeable future. We already have enough to fill a 20’ container and will that get that away asap.
Last Sunday, Lyndon Tamblyn and his partner Jenny from Byond Disaster Relief NZ
drove up from Bulls with over a ton of humanitarian aid. Absolutely amazing.
Thanks to the many people who have donated medaid, you’ve all been incredible and we are very grateful.
We are so appreciative of the generous support of so many to Kiwi K.A.R.E Ukraine.
It’s been a very busy two months for Kiwi K.A.R.E both in Ukraine and here in New Zealand.
In Ukraine the team continues to deliver humanitarian and medical aid well forward and they have done an incredible job over the harsh Eastern European winter. I’m so very proud of each and everyone of them.
Back here, I’ve been on a fundraising speaking tour for Kiwi K.A.R.E and wanted to thank all the various business and community groups who invited me to speak.
New Zealand Rotary you have been amazing across many regions, as has the The Northern Club, Weave Group, Probus, World Affairs Forum and numerous business groups.
We also had a cool roadie from Christchurch to Auckland, bringing four of the seven ambulances north. Big thanks to our wonderful drivers: my daughter, Charlotte Powell, and members of the Ukrainian Society in NZ: Valeriya Amelichkina and Graham Jones.
All seven ambulances are now ready to go by ship to Ukraine next month. Have a glance at our short roadie vid.
Lastly, we have had medical aid donations from a truly wonderful group of people and organisations. I’m going to mention more about our supporters in future posts, but I wanted to thank:
💙 Dr’s Julian Loft and Michael Klaassen, both specialist plastic surgeons who have got right behind our medaid needs;
💛 St Marks Surgical Center in Auckland, who have provided an anaesthetic machine, and Rob at Performance Transport for delivering it to Tauranga;
💙 Kane Turner of KT Medical & Communications Services for all their support;
💛 Kim Kempthrone of Medical Aid Abroad and the team at Prophama in Auckland for all their medaid and support;
💙 Dr Marty Lemberg, a leading GP in Tauranga for sorting out the medaid in our warehouse;
💛 Sally Cooke and Tuskany Agency for their indefatigable comms support, and;
💙 Manager extraordinaire, Cathy Horton for organising a number of speaking events at The Northern Club.
If you feel you can, please help us to support the people of Ukraine, many of whom are still under siege, by clicking to donate here and if you have already, our heartfelt thanks.
Kiwi K.A.R.E. will soon take seven, decommissioned, St John Ambulances to Ukraine. We will keep two as mobile health clinics, with the remaining five going to front line medical centres. We also have funds to purchase a 10 tonne truck. Therefore we have lifted our fundraising goal by $50,000 to ensure we have OPEX to run and maintain the additional vehicles.
Please click on the link for the Radio NZ interview: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018882386/tenby-powell-ambulances-to-ukraine
Kiwi K.A.R.E continues to operate in Ukraine and to support our friends and key partners. This video was filmed in Bakhmut by UA Day by Day, a Ukrainian NGO who we work with, side by side, delivering medical and humanitarian aid and conducting evacuations when needed.
Thank you for showing us the wonderful work you are doing. Love to you all and to the people you are helping.
All power to Kiwi K.A.R.E. What a pointless war. I saw a photo recently of a Ukrainian who reminded me of a family member. He looked like he should be reading stories to his grandkids next to the fire, with his dog. Instead he was fighting in Bakhmut and he looked cold, and exhausted.
Thanks for your continued support Stephanie- we all appreciate it greatly. 💙💛
Seeing the work Kiwi KARE has undertaken brings the project to life! Well done Kiwi KARE for your ongoing support for the plight of these underserving people
Kiwi K.A.R.E. and our Friends Continue to Get Humanitarian and Medical Aid Through.
As our vigil for Andrew Bagshaw and Christoper Parry continues, so too does the work of Kiwi K.A.R.E. and our colleagues in Red Zones (those towns and villages behind the front lines).
On Andy and Chris - despite reports to the contrary, none of us have given up hope and we maintain a belief that they may still be alive. We continue to work hard behind the scenes to locate them and get them home safely.
This update is a photographic exposé of the last few days in Ukraine. The teams have been operating under extremely challenging conditions, which also includes the weather.
My thanks to Kiwi K.A.R.E. team member Carlo Bravo and his talented colleagues for the photos.
Just an explanatory note: none of the team members in any of the photos are soldiers. We wear helmets and body armour for personal protection when needed and it has a military look about it. But I can assure you, all those pictured are humanitarian aid volunteers.
Nearly 900 New Zealanders have supported Kiwi K.A.R.E and we are incredibly grateful for and humbled by this support. If you feel you can or give more, please click to donate.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
On behalf of Kiwi K.A.R.E, my big thanks to the many New Zealanders, and our friends overseas, who have supported our operation in Ukraine this past five months.
It sure has been a journey and none of it would have been possible without the support from so many who gave so generously.
Sadly for many Ukrainians, their struggle continues and now, at the beginning of the harsh Eastern European winter, they will endure life without power and water as the missiles and drones continue to rain down on their infrastructure.
Many of you have asked how best to support Ukrainian’s over this period. As you know, Kiwi K.A.R.E remains fully operational under the stellar leadership of Colby Pakarno.
We have created a short list below of key items that Colby and the team are constantly trying to source. Remember - items are much cheaper in Eastern Europe where the NZ Dollar has strong, comparative, purchasing power.
So, if you feel you can contribute this Christmas, we will purchase the things listed below and get them to those in the newly liberated areas, and where the power and water is most limited.
Below is a small sample of photos from recent Kiwi K.A.R.E. ops, thanks to Carlo Bravo, our valued Peruvian team member and photojournalist.
Thanks again everyone, you have been amazing! I wish you and your families a joyous, safe, and very Merry Christmas.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FOR UKRAINE:
💙 4KW portable gas heaters that run on 11kg propane cylinders - circa NZ$150 in Poland
💛 Generators: 2.5kva portable to 20kva diesel generators (this covers a range for individual houses in villages to powering multilevel apartments) - a few $NZ100 to $NZ2,500
💙 Wood burning stoves and water heaters: $NZ48 -$NZ80 (depending on size and water tank capacity).
💛 Power Inverters - 5000W high power, 10000W peaking power outdoor DC 12V 24V 48V modified sine wave power generator inverter for home. Circa $NZ250
💙 Led Head torches - rechargeable, with long operating times: $NZ15 - $NZ60
💛 Food, drinking water, water purifying tabs, toothpaste, soap, feminine hygiene products, and a range of basic medical items (including paracetamol) are still needed and we continue to source these regularly.
#kiwikare #StandWithUkraine #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
What an inspirational Christmas shopping list, Tenby...just what we needed.
"On the fifth day of Christmas, KiwiKARE gave to me:
one gas heater, two generators, three wood burning stoves, four power inverters, five LED torches and a Kiwi in a Punga tree"
Best wishes to all of the KiwiKARE team for Christmas and may all in Ukraine have a better New Year.
Gillian.
Our latest video shows the absolute devastation of Kam’yanka, a town close to Izyum, the site of the mass graves, and en route to Kramatorsk and ultimately Bukmut.
As a consequence of continued aggressive attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure and civilian targets, and to support Ukrainian families over a longer period, Kiwi KARE is now focussing on raising funds for a full two year operation in Ukraine.
A good decision, we shall continue supporting this cause.
Stay safe.
Gillian.
Thanks Gillian - your continued support is greatly appreciated. 💙💛
Mykolaiv is a port city near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine with a pre-war population of about 470,000.
Today it’s population is less than half that due to constant shelling and missile strikes over the last eight months.
It is located on the Southern Bug River and has the most downriver bridge crossing of that river, with access to the Black Sea - and that makes it strategically important.
The city has traditionally served as a transportation hub for Ukraine (sea port, commercial port, river port, highway and railway junction, and a major airport).
The battle of Mykolaiv started on the night of 26 February 2022, as part of the southern Ukraine counter-offensive. It ended in Russian forces being repulsed from the city in March, and by April all but a few of its surrounding villages were under Ukrainian control.
The port city still gets hit regularly from afar with a high school and apartment building being targeted while Kiwi KARE was there, killing one student and injuring many more other people. This is what the traumatised residents of Mykolaiv have been subjected to for over eight months.
Kiwi KARE had our two vans there loaded with much needed medial aid for the Mykolaiv Hospital and another medical facility.
We will return soon.
Vovchans’k is a small Ukrainian city in the Kharkiv Oblast (province) with a pre-war population of around 18,000.
Today it’s a forgotten ghost town inhabited by the elderly who either refuse to leave or who can’t leave.
The road from Kharkiv used to be good, taking no more than two hours. Today, it is the worst I’ve driven in Ukraine.
It takes over four hours to get into the township, navigating a sea of potholes and skirting many damaged bridges, driving through Chuhuiv and Khotymla,
Many won’t take their vans there; it’s too hard on the vehicles and it’s very close to the Russian border. At one point, we were only 1 kilometre from Russia, at a distribution point from where much needed humanitarian aid is delivered around the township.
Your support ensures we can continue to provide critical Kiwi aid and refugee services to the people of Ukraine, who so deperately need it. See some of the work we do here...
A huge day today for #KiwiKARE - getting food to what were, until very recently, front line villages. Please help up keep the vehicles rolling by donating
From hospitals to schools - it’s resource intensive and there is a huge lack of resources.
Please donate to, and share about the work, Kiwi K.A.R.E is doing.
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
This is a hospital kitchen that caters to some 150 people, three times a day. Please give generously to, and spread the word about, Kiwi K.A.R.E
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
We have agreed a formal partnership with Promteaus dla Seniorow, a large Warsaw based humanitarian Foundation, and a HUMAID agency called Folkowiskon, who have been providing support to the people of Ukraine from the outset of the Russian invasion.
Both organisations do considerable work in supporting schools and hospitals and today I travelled with them and was introduced to some of their key contacts.
I’m going to take you on a tour of a very poor hospital in great need of support - just to highlight the conditions under which doctors, nurses, and their patients, work and live.
Please donate to Kiwi K.A.R.E - every dollar helps: https://givealittle.co.nz/.../kiwi-kare-ukraine-kiwi-aid...
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
Even during a war, the circle of life continues, albeit under very challenging conditions for many.
Born into a very uncertain future, we met this beautiful baby girl, alone in a big room, in the hospital’s only incubator.
They need many more incubators, together with a range of other specialist medical equipment.
Please donate to Kiwi K.A.R.E and help us support this little one and those looking after her: https://givealittle.co.nz/.../kiwi-kare-ukraine-kiwi-aid...
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
The Ukrainian health care system was not great before the war; yet another Soviet legacy.
Despite attempts at reforms, buildings and medical equipment was often obsolete and in urgent need of modernisation.
Bear in mind, this was not a mature or stable system, as in many European countries, before the war
Today, six months after the invasion started, it is estimated that some 400 Ukrainian hospitals and medical centres have been destroyed or damaged, leaving doctors and nurses without equipment and drugs to manage everything from battlefield casualties to cancer.
The delivery of even the most basic items is essential.
Please help Kiwi K.A.R.E., and all the amazing HUMAID organisations with whom we work, make a positive impact to Ukraine’s most vulnerable by donation via this link: https://givealittle.co.nz/.../kiwi-kare-ukraine-kiwi-aid...
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
#NewZealand - a huge thank you from #Ukraine!
We reached twenty percent of our goal to establish Kiwi K.A.R.E (Kiwi Aid & Refugee Evacuation) for a twelve month operation in Ukraine in a mere 10 days, and it has grown since then. We are now over the $55,000 mark.
My heartfelt thanks to those who donated and to those who are spreading the word about our #humanitarianaid work.
Please watch and share my video which gives you an update of last week’s work in Ukraine.
And don’t forget to catch Tova O'Brien’s interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday, August 17th, at 6:30AM on Today FM.
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini #StandWithUkraine
🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇳🇿
We are nearly at twenty percent of our goal in only 10 days. My huge thanks to all those generous souls who have donated and also to those who are supporting Kiwi K.A.R.E by spreading the word. Thank you one and all.
JOB DONE ✔️
Ambulances delivered directly into the hands of those who need them and, most importantly, know how to use them.
The big tough looking guy is a Doctor, the other two are combat medics. One was limping very badly and took his arm out of a sling for the photo.
And great to meet Bartosz Cichocki, the Polish Ambassador to #Ukraine who greeted us. I liked him a lot. He was one of the few Ambassadors who remained in #kyiv during the Russian assault on the city and is doing great work today.
As you’ll observe, I was dressed appropriately for meeting the Ambassador, adorned with #Kiwiana. Big shout out to the Moutere Inn!
I want to be very clear about my role in all this. I was the honorary member of an awesome Polish team. They needed someone who could drive competently on the wrong side of the road, who didn’t mind endless hours behind the wheel, and who could speak fluent Ukrainian. In the absence of all that, I got the call and it all worked out splendidly anyway.
Don’t forget to donate to, or spread the word about, Kiwi K.A.R.E., here’s the link: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/kiwi-kare-ukraine-kiwi-aid-and-refugee-evacuation
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 🇵🇱 🇳🇿
Driving across #Poland in a convoy of ambulances bound for #Ukraine. We’ll cross the border tomorrow and head East.
Great to be working with a top Polish team. 
#kiwiKare #украина #ukraine #slavaukraini
🇺🇦 🇳🇿 🇵🇱
