THE VOLUNTEERS PACKING THOUSANDS OF FIRST AID KITS FOR UKRAINE

At the Meest warehouse in Port Reading, New Jersey, hundreds of Razom volunteers of all ages and backgrounds have been hard at work since the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion. They are packing individual first aid kits (IFAKs) and tactical medical backpacks that get shipped to Ukraine and distributed to those who might find themselves in need of first medical help across the country, saving limbs and lives.To get more news about ifak kit, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.

With music playing in the background, an organized assembly line powered by volunteers produces 6,000 to 8,000 IFAKs every week. The team recently broke a record – packing over 3,000 IFAKs in one shift.

Andriy Boychuk, who helps organize the process, starts his volunteer days at 7 a.m. Supplies bought off Razom’s Amazon wishlist get delivered, opened, and sorted at his home. He takes that over with him to the warehouse to start his shift at 9 a.m.
There are 15 items that go into an IFAK from tourniquets to gauze to burn dressing, and the warehouse works like a conveyor belt with people responsible for packing about three items each into the kit. Before the IFAK is closed, colorful postcards drawn by kids through the Encourage Ukraine initiative are folded in. Those IFAKs go into boxes, and everything is systematized and labeled so people on the receiving end in Ukraine know exactly what to expect, Andriy said.

Prior to February, Boychuk said he didn’t even know what the term “tacmed” – tactical medicine – meant. A marketer by trade, he spoke to Razom co-founder Mariya Soroka and simply said he wanted to help in any way possible. Today, he is the tacmed coordinator.Yuliia Shama had volunteered with Razom’s Co-Pilot Project and participated in the organization’s book club before russia’s invasion. The week before the war started, Razom issued a call for help with medical donations and Yuliia joined the initiative. She was assigned to the emergency response team working on tactical medicine including finding and procuring important supplies, and consulting with military doctors and other medical experts on what would be needed.

In the early days of the project, approximately 40 people in the United States, Europe and Canada were calling manufacturers and suppliers asking for quotes and looking for high-quality, licensed, and certified supplies, especially high quality tourniquets. “It was 24/7 work for many people to get these quotes and do negotiations,” she said.

In the early weeks, many suppliers donated or waived fees when they found out supplies would be heading to Ukraine. Within three days, the Meest warehouse was full of donations and Shama knew a detailed process and well-organized team was the best way forward.

Today, she’s managing the project in the warehouse and the process is completely streamlined from where to order items to tracking and packing. Donations to Razom are funding purchases of bulk medical supplies going into IFAKs and backpacks.