Over the past 27 years, Jean Aitcheson and a group of other retired nurses in Stratford have been sending donated medical supplies to overseas countries experiencing all kinds of natural disasters, from cyclones to floods to earthquakes.
Over the past 27 years, Jean Aitcheson and a group of other retired nurses in Stratford have been sending donated medical supplies to overseas countries experiencing all kinds of natural disasters, from cyclones to floods to earthquakes.
On Saturday, though, they packed up about 14 cubic meters worth of bandages, disinfectant, pain medication and other much-needed supplies for Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Poland, the first time they’ve ever supported a humanitarian response to war.
“The amount of human suffering that is happening there, it’s devastating,” Aitcheson said this week. “It’s only a little tiny thing we can do (to help), but it’s something.”
The volunteer-run Stratford Mission Depot has developed a reputation over the years for its grassroots effort to recycle medical supplies donated primarily by area families whose loved ones no longer need them.
Prior to Saturday’s shipment, the group had been working with Dr. Brad Petrisor, a Hamilton-based orthopedic surgeon, and a network of Rotary clubs to help send wound care and other medical supplies to Beirut, Lebanon, the site of a massive explosion in August 2020 that killed over 200 people.
Petrisor, who has experience working overseas in places such as Haiti and Uganda, was in Stratford Saturday to pick up the supplies destined for Poland.
The shipment was brought to Ivan Franko Homes in Mississauga, a Ukrainian-Canadian retirement home that set up a temporary collection site for a group called Humanitarian Support of Ukraine, Petrisor said. The group had recently put out a call for warm clothes, first-aid kits, medicine and other items that left for Poland over the weekend.
“The work effort that (Stratford Mission Depot volunteers) put into this is incredible,” Petrisor said Wednesday, adding the supplies are in date and unopened but not usable in Ontario since they’ve been in someone’s home.
“We’re not sending anything that’s out of date. Anything that we sent on Saturday (we) looked through to make sure it was good stuff to go.”
Stratford Mission Depot volunteers have now started work to replenish their storeroom. Two other organizations have requested supplies for Ukrainian refugees, Aitcheson said.
“We want to get the word out to the public that we are accepting supplies. We will process them and have them available to go to (Europe).”
Aitcheson can be reached via email at [email protected].
“We need … virtually all kinds of medical supplies and medications,” she said.