Helping an injured volunteer

Helping an injured volunteer

The war in Ukraine is taking away many lives and hurting millions of Ukrainians. Yuliya, the founder of Scents of Ukraine, was able to escape the war, however many of her friends are living in the middle of it. 

Yuliya's high school friend, Sergii Gimiush, was severely injured on May 7, 2022, while he was volunteering in Kharkiv region. 

In his pre-war life, Sergii, an economist who graduated from Kyiv National Economic University, enjoyed photography, soccer, and traveling. As the war burst out in Ukraine, Sergii began to explore the ways to help his country. Together with other volunteers from his home town Kyiv, Sergii started going to nearby regions of Ukraine where people required urgent supply of food and medications.

While helping those in need, Sergii was also capturing the life around him with his camera. The photos Sergii took during his many volunteer trips will leave you speechless.

April 4, 2022, Borodyanka, Ukraine. Photo credit: instagram.com/gimiush

On May 7, 2022, Sergii and his companions loaded their car with water, food, diapers, and cloths to deliver these essentials to families who lost their homes in Kharkiv region. 

This photo was taken an hour before Sergii's life was changed forever. 

Photo credit: instagram.com/gimiush

To reach their destination, the group of volunteers had to go close to the active war zone. This is when their vehicle was shelled by Russian military. In Sergii's words, he felt unbearable pain, like if his legs were boiling. 

Despite the severe injury and ongoing shelling, Sergii managed to crawl to a safe spot under a tree. Fortunately, the medical help came soon. Sergii was transported to a local hospital. 

As he regained consciousness, one of his feet was amputated. 

Two weeks later, Doctors Without Borders transported Sergii and other injured heroes from Ukraine to Germany for intense treatment. In Germany, Sergii's doctor had to come to a tragic resolution-Sergii's other foot had to be amputated. 

We are grateful that Sergii is currently alive and stable, however, his recovery will take a long time. 

Scents of Ukraine was able to send $300 to Sergii's family to support Sergii's recovery and prosthetics.

The full story of Sergii's volunteer action and injury was documented by whowhatwhy.org. You can read it here

We pray for Sergii's recovery. We admire his bravery and perseverance.

If you are interested in sponsoring Sergii directly, here are the details:

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