Nurse Edel Marlèn Taraldsen felt a little powerless and would like to do something. Her colleague, Kurt Eriksen, had rushed to the front to help.
– For me, it would not be appropriate to go to the front myself, and then I wanted to find out a way in which I could contribute. Then we started collecting equipment.
She knew that life consisted of “superficial” things and that people complained about trifles.
– When we see how everyday life is torn apart and that people’s lives in Ukraine are destroyed, it does something to one. I am very moved by it.
The nurse Edel Marlèn Taraldsen did not want to go to the front in Ukraine herself, but wanted to contribute in other ways.
Photo: Allan Klo / NRK
It started small with five packs of masks that had expired.
– We send medical technical equipment, monitors, ventilators, incubators and lots of other things. There are all professional fields within nursing and health.
Fantastic
The war in Ukraine began when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. He escalated in February 2022 when Russia invaded the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Several hospitals in this country have since contributed to aid crews who are down at the front in Ukraine.
The hospital in Telemark has, among other things, donated ten ultrasound machines, while Helse Midt-Noreg has sent four ambulances down to the war.
On Wednesday last week, the trailer with medical equipment headed for Ukraine.
Photo: Sunniva Hadland Bøthun / NRK
In Finnmark, health personnel also wanted to do something.
Both at the hospital in Hammerfest and Kirkenes, many hours have been worked outside working hours to get everything in place.
– All departments have contributed to collecting the equipment in boxes, says Edel Marlèn Taraldsen.
Found a discontinued piece of equipment, it should be in the box.
– There is a very nice group on the team from the hospital who have all helped with the work. Without all of them, this would not have been possible. For a charity and for a local environment! It’s absolutely wonderful to see everyone so engaged.
Jørgen Nilsen at Finnmark Hospital is proud and humbled by the work done.
Photo: Jan Harald Tomassen / NRK
Taraldsen says her employer has been positive from the start.
– It came to us as an initiative from the employees and we have followed it up. We have got the whole of Finnmark Hospital to collect equipment for someone who is more in need than we are, says clinic manager Jørgen Nilsen at Hammerfest Hospital.
– Touching
The clinic manager at the hospital in Hammerfest sees that the equipment could be useful for Ukraine.
– When we have surplus equipment, we have the opportunity to send it on. I am incredibly proud and humbled by the work and efforts that have been made in the entire Finnmark Hospital.
He considers this to be part of Finnmarkssykehuset’s social responsibility.
The truck with twelve full pallets has started traveling south.
– It was touching when they closed the doors on the container. Then it dawned on me what was actually happening. I know that people in Ukraine will benefit greatly from the equipment we have sent, says Taraldsen.
Kind regards
– We still see donor satisfaction and commitment. What we have seen is that those who wish to give, and who are willing to travel to Ukraine, do a good job of investigating what is needed. Not least that what they give is put to use, says Morten Tønessen-Krokan in Raude Kross.
He says that they have not seen a collection of clothes for quite some time and explains that it is natural now that the weather is warm.
Morten Tønessen-Krokan in Raude Krossen says that they still see commitment. – Children sell waffles and adults give clothes, he says.
Photo: Red Cross
Tønessen-Krokan emphasized that health personnel and medical equipment, such as consumables, are needed. Hospitals and clinics have been damaged and weakened.
He says it is welcome that equipment is coming.
– If you go all the way east in Ukraine, it’s very bad. There are very few people who are able to get help, and people who are in urgent need of emergency help. Along the front line, where combat actions also take place, there are many who need emergency help.
The Norwegian Refugee Council sees the same tendencies as Raude Krossen.
Tiril Skarstein in the Norwegian Refugee Council says that they see the same tendencies as at Raude Krossen.
Photo: The Norwegian Refugee Council
– We are happy to see the commitment. We hope that we can see the same commitment to other crises, says Tiril Skarstein, project manager for neglected crises at the Norwegian Refugee Council.
She hopes that one can learn from the commitment they see in connection with Ukraine. And that one can get the same donor support for crises that are less talked about.
– We have seen an unusually large level of commitment and generosity from the Norwegian population. It is very gratifying, says Skarstein.
