Latest news with #WeathermanFoundation
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Christchurch man believed killed trying to save wounded soldiers in Ukraine
A Christchurch man who died in Ukraine while helping the country's war efforts had earlier said he was living the dream. Twenty-six-year-old Shan-Le Kearns, from Christchurch, died in the past few weeks. He had posted on social media a slogan that translated to 'Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes'. A source in Ukraine said he had been trying to rescue wounded comrades when his group was hit by drones and explosives. Kearns died attempting to save fellow soldiers, and a Finnish soldier was killed alongside him, the source said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had not yet received any confirmation from Ukraine authorities and was urgently seeking information. However, it said the process may take some time given the situation on the ground in Ukraine. It said no further information could be shared, citing privacy reasons. Elis Kearns told 1News that her son was not on the front line but had been trained in combat so he could help rescue injured soldiers. He had been in Ukraine for two years and was intending to stay for another to fulfil his three-year contract, she said. Kearns is the fourth New Zealander known to have died in Ukraine. Dominic Abelen, 28, was killed on 23 August 2022; Andrew Bagshaw, 47, on 6 January 2023; and Kane Te Tai, 38, on 20 March 2023. The Weatherman Foundation is an American NGO which has been in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of the country. Kyiv-based Lauren Guillaume who is from the foundation's missing-in-action programme said the programme started out delivering humanitarian aid but had developed "to really cover the life of a soldier - all the way from treating the wounded in action both their physical wounds and mental PTSD wounds". The programme also supports the families of the missing in action and killed in action, she said. "Unfortunately these days the difference often between a missing in action and killed in action soldier is whether or not their body can be recovered from the battlefield," she said. "What our team does is investigate to identify their body and we also pursue a court case to help the family try to receive a death certificate in the terrible circumstance if a body cannot be recovered." The only way a family such as Sharn-Le Kearns' family can obtain a death certificate "is either through his physical repatriation or through a court case", she said. "So we are helping them in this process all the way from collecting DNA back in New Zealand, helping them to navigate the Ukrainian judicial system by helping them to collect witness testimonies and submit a case to the Ukrainian court, all the way to eventually helping them apply for the compensation that they're owed." The foundation's team also visits morgues all around Ukraine to look at unidentified remains on the chance that it could be him, she said.
The Independent
17-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
British aid worker who lost limbs in Ukraine may have to fund his own prosthetics
A British aid worker who lost his arm and leg in an attack on Ukraine may have to fund his own prosthetics after he was hit by a drone while completing a civilian evacuation on the frontline. Edward 'Eddy' Scott works for Base UA, which provides shelter and helps evacuate people in combat zones, and was seriously injured when the team's armoured vehicle was hit in Pokrovsk in January. He had to have his left arm and leg amputated. Once the 28-year-old from Dorset leaves initial care, he will go to a post-surgical rehabilitation centre, where he will get plastic surgery and have prosthetics fitted. Base UA said it remains 'up in the air' about how these prosthetics would be funded, as the serious nature of Mr Scott's injuries means he may require extremely high-quality equipment which is not provided as standard. Keen to share the reality of the frontline, Mr Scott told The Independent: 'The last time I went in [to Pokrovsk], it was getting worse. It gets worse every time we go in, every day there's more houses destroyed.' 'The Ukrainians are tough, they know what they're facing. They either want to leave or they don't want to leave, there's no in-between.' He countered beliefs those who refused to leave their homes during evacuations were sympathisers and collaborators with the Russians. Mr Scott added: 'There's an incredible connection to the land. When we've come to people's houses, we've had people kissing their houses goodbye because they've lived in that house for their entire life. It's their property, it's their whole being.' He recalled attending an evacuation request for a man, put in by his daughter, where he refused to leave his home on the frontline. 'We had to record a video of him saying, 'I'm staying,'' he said. 'We can't force people to leave. It has to be their choice.' Having 'fallen in love with Ukraine ', Mr Scott acknowledged a history of 'people telling Ukrainians to leave'. He added: 'So when we come in and say, you have to leave your home. That scares them, that really scares them.' Mr Scott said within 24 hours of the attack the Weatherman Foundation, which helps those affected by the devastation of war and conflict, had offered to fund his initial recovery. 'I want to advocate for Ukrainians who haven't been able to receive the same care I have,' he said. 'Straight off the bat, I've had people helping me. Other people don't get that.' The Ukrainian Health Ministry estimated at least 50,000 citizens have lost limbs in nearly three years of war. More than £100,000 has been raised for his recovery through GoFundMe in the two weeks since the attack. Base UA said this will go towards his onward medical costs, rehabilitation and other associated expenses. 'I really feel loved and the speed at which it happened,' he said of the fundraiser. 'I came out to Ukraine for nothing more than to help people. 'The fact that so many people have seen my story, and decided that I'm someone that they want to support gives me so much positivity, and it's part of the reason I'm so positive after losing two limbs. 'The fact that I've got this incredible network of people who are looking after me and who are making sure that I'm taking care of.' Mr Scott didn't have family in Ukraine before he came to help in October 2022. When the war started, he was a sailor who initially thought he would go over for three months. He said: 'I wasn't sort of aware of what I could do. I just knew that I wanted to do something.' Since moving to Ukraine, he has found family in friends and he now has a goddaughter. He said he found a 'sense of purpose' in 'helping other people and giving back'. 'I want to settle in Ukraine,' he said. 'I have a goddaughter here, I have family here, so I will stay here and settle. I plan to buy a house and just live here. 'I've been given opportunities now that I didn't have beforehand, and I've been given a future, to be honest.' US president Donald Trump has said he intends for negotiations to begin to end the war in Ukraine, following a 'lengthy and highly productive' phone call with Vladimir Putin last week. He said he and the Russian president had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately". The statements caused concern across Europe as Mr Trump suggested it would be unlikely that Kyiv would win back all its territory or join Nato in a deal. European leaders will this week hold an emergency summit to discuss the developments. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said his main issue was to 'not allow everything to go according to Putin's plan'. Mr Zelensky said: 'We cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements [made] without us.' Mr Scott added: 'The news coming out from America, it just breaks my heart. We've done so much to help this country, to save this country, to defend this country, and it's being thrown away.'
