Ukrainian-born Port Macquarie Base Hospital doctor Andriy Boyko raises $128,000, travels home to help

Dr Andriy Boyko swapped the halls of Port Macquarie Base Hospital for the familiar streets of his home country when he travelled back to war-torn Ukraine to help with medical aid.

Dr Andriy Boyko swapped the halls of Port Macquarie Base Hospital for the familiar streets of his home country when he travelled back to war-torn Ukraine to help with medical aid.

He returned to the sunny Mid North Coast last week, but his charity work to support Ukraine hasn’t stopped.

“People keep asking me what it was like over there, and there’s two key things I wanted to bring back with me to share with them,” Dr Boyko told The Mid North Coast News.

“One: Ukraine is incredibly grateful for the support Australia has shown them, they can’t believe a country on the other side of the world is concerned enough to want to help.

“So it’s not about me bringing these supplies in, it’s about where they’re coming from, and it’s important for Ukraine to know that people around the world are supporting them.

“Two: the people of Ukraine are aware of a shared sense of war fatigue – there’s only so much you can see on your TV screen – but they can’t just walk away from it, they’re stuck, and the only way out is for them to defend their country.

“There’s an amazing degree of resolve around it too; I spoke with some young people, 20-year-olds at university, and asked what they’re going to do if they get conscripted – they said, while they don’t want to fight, they’re going to if called upon.

“Unfortunately that’s the reality, so if there’s any way we can help them out, it’d be wrong of us not to.”

Dr Boyko’s family immigrated to Australia when he was 11-years-old, and he still has plenty of loved ones back in Ukraine.

Prior to Covid, he was regularly visiting home to see friends and family, but this trip back was solely motivated by a desire to help victims of war.

“When the invasion started, I explored ways to do my bit to help, and that’s how I started fundraising,” Dr Boyko said.

“We’ve raised almost $130,000 so far, which has funded two deliveries over to Ukraine; the first involved mostly tactical first-aid medical equipment and it went out in the first few weeks of the war.

“Then, most recently, I travelled over with the second load – which included medications and medical equipment that was distributed across a number of places in Ukraine – and I went with the delivery to make sure it got to the right people and achieves its goal.”

Dr Boyko was originally thinking of joining a larger organisation, but was advised to use his local contacts instead.

“The Australian ambassador to Ukraine said that one of the biggest issues with foreign aid right now is securing local contacts – if you already have that, it’s a really big asset,” he said.

“So he encouraged me to use my local knowledge and trustworthy connections.”

Dr Boyko explained that, because Ukraine is one of the poorest countries in Europe, it has a high degree of corruption.

“Especially during wartime, there’s a lot of things that get misappropriated and go missing – so knowing people who have their hearts in the right place is very important,” he said.

“So through my contacts, my friends and some ex-pats based in Ukraine at the moment, we’re working together to make sure these supplies get to the areas where they’re needed without any risk of it going missing.”

Some of those destinations include; the National Military Hospital of Ukraine (one of Kyiv’s biggest hospitals, at the centre of caring for those injured in the Russian invasion), evacuation volunteers in Dnipro (helping orphaned children, local hospitals and those who have lost family or are displaced as a result of the war), and Odessa’s regional health district (supporting those fleeing and fighting in southern Ukraine).

Dr Boyko said the support from the Mid North Coast, and Australia more broadly, hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Even with financial aid aside, we’ve had a lot of wonderful support in the form of in-kind donations from Port Macquarie businesses and clubs such as sporting memorabilia, which will be auctioned off, and medical equipment through Australia’s largest tactical first-aid supplier – TacMed – which we’re lucky to have right here on the Mid North Coast,” Dr Boyko said.

“It’s been amazing – so many kind and supportive donations.”

Dr Boyko will continue to update his GoFundMe with videos and photos from his time in Ukraine, as well as details surrounding how the money raised will be used.