Natalia Kryvolapova, a volunteer who has been helping for Kharkiv Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital N1 — 21 years. The story of supporting children in the hospital began when Natalia’s son fell ill and was admitted to this medical facility. Natalia promised herself that if her child recovered, she would help other sick children as much as she could. Her son recovered!
During all her volunteer work, Natalia has been involved in various areas to aid in the treatment of young patients: seeking funds and medications, psychological work with parents and children, and more. In the course of her activities, Natalia met the Austrian Global Fund, which has been providing diverse support to the hospital in Kharkiv for years.
We asked Natalia what gives her the strength to continue volunteering with children.
“Many times over these years I wanted to quit volunteering. But how can you stop when you see a confused child with cancer? An important factor for me is the support of the people around me. For example, you call Yulia Konotoptseva, the director of the Global2000 Children’s Foundation in Ukraine, asking to purchase infusion bags – you get what you need. I have these crucial contacts, and someone else does not. That’s why I continue to help the hospital and sick children”, — Natalia shares.
Infusion bags are special containers used for intravenous administration of fluids and medications to a patient. The bags are very important for ensuring proper hydration, maintaining electrolyte balance, and delivering medications to the body.
“In our case, infusion bags are needed for children suffering from hematological and oncological diseases, i.e., localized tumors. It’s a very useful tool to avoid constantly disturbing the child with hourly bottle changes when medications are being administered. The necessary medications for therapy are mixed in the container for a long time – up to 36 hours. The child can walk around the ward with it, which is very convenient”, — the volunteer shares.
In general, in 2024, the Global2000 Children’s Foundation in Ukraine provided infusion bags for two hospitals worth 51,207.8 UAH. Thanks to all the donors from Austria for supporting Ukrainian children!
According to Natalia, 75% of children with cancer recover. And this is thanks to the joint help of charitable foundations and caring people. Treatment requires money, time, effort, and even small joys, such as gifts or short trips, so the child feels happy. At first, children are very depressed. But later, they see examples of others who have recovered, and they gain additional motivation and faith in their own victory.