Lets support Mark-traveler!

Even before his birth Marko has become a traveller. And as a true traveller he could not miss out on the opportunity to see Australia with his own eyes. So he has decided to be born here and now. His parents forgot to tell him that they don’t have enough money even for a short stay in an Australian labor ward, not to mention staying there for two months.

He was not yet exposed to the formalities of travel insurances, so he did not know that any costs associated with giving birth would not be covered by those. The plan was for him to be born in South America, but Marko refused to leave the land down under without even a glimpse of it.

Marko’s parents are two musicians from the Ukrainian band “Folknery”, Volodymyr Mulyar and Yaryna Kvitka, who are in the middle of their around the world bicycle journey aimed at collecting the world’s musical heritage and sharing their songs. It took them sixteen months to cycle from Kyiv, Ukraine to Sydney, Australia.

Marko’s birth was planned to happen in Argentina at the end of June. His parents have already found a good hospital, made arrangements with a doctor and set aside a small amount of money that would be required for this. They had tickets to travel to Argentina on the 2nd of May. But on the 8th of April the extraordinary event of Marco’s premature birth (on the 28th week of pregnancy) has dramatically changed the plan of their expedition and forced them to seek help.

Every day of Marko’s stay in the hospital costs his parents  3900 USD . Marko will not be discharged until he is able to breath by himself and is in a stable condition. So his parents are facing the bill of around  233 000 USD provided there are no complications. As of today (after 12 days in the hospital) they already owe 44 096 USD.

Unfortunately, this amount is absolutely out of reach for Volodymyr and Yaryna. To give you an idea about their usual budget: throughout their entire trip from Kyiv to Sydney (25 000 km, 17 months, 13 countries) the couple has only spent USD 6900. Ukraine is not the wealthiest country and its economy is not in the greatest shape. But even under Ukrainian standard our travellers cannot be considered wealthy. Their average income was around USD 400 per month before the start of their journey and most of this amount had to be spent on rent. Partially because of this they travel on bicycles and sleep in a tent. Despite not being wealthy Volodymyr and Yaryna have strong passion for travel and art as well as a dream to tell the world about Ukraine and its reach musical culture.

Their situation is complicated by the fact that their tourist visa does not permit them to work and expires on the 14th of May. They are currently trying to extend their visas and obtain a work permit, as this is the only way they see for them to be able to slowly start repaying their debt. After Marko’s discharge from hospital they would also need to stay in Australia for a few months before it is safe for him to travel.

Volodymyr and Yaryna want to do the right thing and do want to pay the hospital for rescuing their child, but they don’t have an opportunity to do so by themselves due to factors beyond their control (or, as they say, by the will of God).

Name: Mark Mulyar, April 8, 2016

City: Sydney, Australia

Diagnosis: Premature birth (28 weeks, 5 days)