A paramedic travelling to Ukraine as a medical volunteer has revealed the significant online abuse she has received for her attempts to raise money to donate an ambulance to the war torn country.
Lancefield woman Jodie Rogers, 47, has worked as a paramedic for 16 years, but is planning to travel to the embattled European nation in February in order to teach civilians vital life saving techniques for trauma-related injuries, such as how to do arterial tourniquets and CPR.
But while Ms Rogers said her fundraising efforts have continued to motor on, she has been shocked by the level of criticism her plans have encountered.
“I’ve done 16 years of answering triple-OOO calls,” she told NCA NewsWire on Wednesday.
In one online comment seen by NCA NewsWire, a man tells Ms Rogers: “Stuff Ukraine, how about you start a go fund me page for our ambos and help your own country.”
Another said that Ukraine had received “enough” financial support from around the world.
Ms Rogers said other comments had used expletives and asked “why aren’t you helping Australians?”
“It made me question if I was doing the right thing,” Ms Rogers, who has also worked in the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea, said.
She will be working for the charity SMART Medical Aid, which according to its website has contributed more than 42 ambulances since Russia’s first offensive began against Ukraine in 2014, and has also donated equipment to more than 132 medical facilities.
Ms Rogers said she would be based mainly in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where she would also help Ukrainian paramedics when needed.
Lviv is considered to be the front line of fighting and was shelled by allegedly Russian forces in March.
The city also became a hub for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the country’s more combative regions.
“It’s not something any Joe Citizen is able to do,” Ms Rogers said.
She has started a Go Fund Me page with the aim of raising $100,000 for an ambulance, while any extra money will go to medical equipment needed by Ukrainian hospitals.
“It’s a way to make a difference,” Ms Rogers said.
