Nineteen-year-old Vasyl Pelysh, a volunteer with the Aidar battalion, knows what it is like to make unimaginable sacrifices in the name of freedom for one’s country. While being held captive by Russian forces he had his right arm cut off. His Russian captors had found the Ukrainian coat of arms, the trident, and the words “Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!”) tattooed onto his shoulder. They made sure he would pay dearly for his patriotism.
It is young Ukrainian war amputees such as Pelysh that Gene Berzovski and John Broadhead have made it their mission to help. Berzovski is a native of Kyiv, having come to Canada ten years ago. He has been involved with local Ukrainian community events, but this past summer something triggered him to do more. “I saw [online] a double amputee with my last name,” said Berzovski. “I sent him $50, and then another small amount, but at a certain point I thought, ‘my budget is limited’ and so I shared my thoughts with John.” John suggested they try crowd funding, and the Ukraine War Amps project was born.
“I’m the idea guy, Gene’s the passion man,” explains Broadhead. While Broadhead does not have any Ukrainian roots, he does have personal connections to their project’s cause: his own father was an amputee from World War II. But while his father always had “great care and beautiful shoes provided by the Canadian government,” he knows that the wounded in Ukraine are not as lucky.
Motivated by their commitment to help as many Ukrainian war amputees as possible, the two friends, who have worked together for eight years now, began the Ukraine War Amps project. By reaching out to media, family, friends, and friends of friends, they were able to raise $1,240 which went directly to helping two young war amputees, Oleg (24) and Yuriy (20). Oleg lost both of his hands and had multiple injuries all over his body. Yuriy lost an arm and one of his legs, while the other leg was left severely wounded.
Now they have expanded their mission and are aiming to sponsor four war amputees. The goal is to raise $2000, $500 for each of them, an amount which would help the young veterans recover as much of a “normal life” as possible. The fundraising is all done through a crowd funding website (www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-ukraine-war-amps/265081), where donors can also find pictures, YouTube videos, and personal stories of the veterans being sponsored.
The two acknowledge the skepticism of many when it comes to crowd funding websites. “I think the first thing people think when they see things like this is, ‘is the money going to get there?’” admits Broadhead, “and we’ve gone to great lengths to show that it does.” “We give the money directly to the people,” explains Berzovski. “We provide donors with pictures of receipts and thank yous from the affected soldiers.”
Berzovski and Broadhead manage their Ukraine War Amps project completely independently, and although it can sometimes seem a daunting task, the two remain optimistic. “We have to do something, it’s better than doing nothing,” says Berzovski. “From my own budget I would never be able to give the soldiers such an amount, but together, we can make a difference in their lives.”
Nineteen-year-old Vasyl Pelysh, a volunteer with the Aidar battalion, knows what it is like to make unimaginable sacrifices in the name of freedom for one’s country. While being held captive by Russian forces he had his right arm cut off. His Russian captors had found the Ukrainian coat of arms, the trident, and the words “Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!”) tattooed onto his shoulder. They made sure he would pay dearly for his patriotism. 
