I pedal to save lives!

My name is Stanislav Kravchuk. I am an intern doctor at a small regional hospital. On July 3, my first vacation begins – I am going to go on a 1,500 km trip around Ukraine on a bicycle to raise money for a first aid training manikin for the Ukrainian Medical Students' Association.

A year ago, I was a student – I spent 6 years to completely get into the therapeutical process. Despite of – everyone can save lives! You don't need to graduate from universities or wear a white coat. It is enough to know how to provide first aid. Every 45 seconds someone’s heart stops. Early resuscitation and further defibrillation during the first 1-2 minutes can save lives. According to the statistics, 82% of Ukrainians think that they will not be able to provide first aid and only 1% know how to use an external automatic defibrillator.

For more than 6 years, medical students throughout Ukraine have been teaching basic resuscitation skills via the Medical Volunteer project. However, in order to perform that effectively and to enable participants to practice, it is necessary to have appropriate equipment: a training manikin and an external defibrillator.

I believe that among my friends and, simply active citizens, there are those who will help future doctors to teach saving lives. Medical instructors will teach first aid skills based on the youth space "Dialog Hub" of the Elena Pinchuk Foundation using the latest European recommendations.

All funds raised will be used to purchase the necessary training equipment. I ask you to join – this alone can save someone's life!