With the war in Ukraine now entering its second month, many in the McGill community are leading initiatives to support the millions of refugees displaced from the war-torn country, from virtual training to support Ukrainian healthcare workers to a benefit concert for Ukrainian refugees.
A team led by trauma surgeon Dr. Dan Deckelbaum has made use of the simulated operating room at McGill’s Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning to create a series of videos, with Ukrainian narration, to demonstrate a number of vital medical procedures, including chest tube insertion and airway ventilatory management.
”To support their healthcare teams, our [Ukrainian] partners requested teaching materials for basic life support and lifesaving procedures that can be done by non-surgeons,” explains Dr. Deckelbaum, Co-Director of the Centre for Global Surgery at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Surgical and Procedural Skills Director at the Steinberg Centre.
The Desautels Faculty of Management is supporting an initiative led by Professor Ruslan Goyenko to provide aid to refugees – mostly women and children – at the Ukrainian border with Poland, as well as those coming to Canada. Specifically, it will be collecting and delivering donations of non-perishable food and medication. More details can be found here. For questions, please email Prof. Ruslan Goyenko at ruslan.goyenko@mcgill.ca.
For the final performance of its 33rd season, the I Medici di McGill (Physicians of McGill) Orchestra is playing a benefit concert for Ukrainian refugees in support of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). The concert on April 3, at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in downtown Montreal, will begin with the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem and three Ukrainian folk songs performed by Trio Rossa. A Médecins Sans Frontières staff member on the ground in Ukraine will make a short presentation.
McGill’s School of Religious Studies held a used book sale with all proceeds going to humanitarian relief in Ukraine. With many local groups organizing relief efforts, the McGill Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (MORSL) is maintaining a list of some of the volunteer opportunities currently available at Montreal organizations.
In a message to the McGill community on March 2, Principal Suzanne Fortier noted that she was reminded of the need for stability and peace in order to pursue higher learning.
McGill “thus stands in solidarity with Ukrainian universities, and with their students, faculty, and staff across that country.
“Here at home, we have reached out to offer support to McGill’s international students with Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, and to the McGill Ukrainian Students’ Association,” she said. Her message included McGill-linked resources for any students and employees who might be feeling overwhelmed.
Provost and Vice-Principal Academic Christopher Manfredi outlined some of the efforts underway involving McGillians to support Ukrainian communities at home and abroad – as well as members of the McGill community who might be impacted.
The initiatives include encouraging students whose financial situation is impacted by the conflict to contact the Scholarships and Student Aid Office to discuss possible solutions, including direct financial aid and fee payment deferrals, Manfredi said in the statement on March 23. Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) is offering accelerated admissions for graduate applicants from Ukraine, and opportunities for graduate research traineeships for displaced students currently enrolled in a Ukrainian university.
The McGill Ukrainian Students’ Association is a Students’ Society of McGill University cultural club aimed at bringing together all Ukrainian students at the University. Follow them on Facebook to learn about volunteer and donation opportunities.
Examining Russia’s War on Ukraine is the focus of the upcoming Made by McGill Alumni Webcast, featuring Juliet Johnson, Professor, Department of Political Science and author of the award-winning Priests of Prosperity: How Central Bankers Transformed the Postcommunist World, and Maria Popova, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science; Jean Monnet Chair in Europe and the Rule of Law. The two professors specialize in understanding political developments in post-Communist Europe. Some of the questions they’ll address during the free webcast on April 5 include: What were the Kremlin’s initial intentions, and have they changed in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance and economic sanctions imposed by the West? What are the possible pathways to peace? And what might the war ultimately mean for the world’s security?
For more information on efforts to help the people of Ukraine, check McGill websites, including the McGill Reporter.
The McGill Student Emergency Support Fund helps students from across the University who face financial challenges and you can make a gift here.