Ambos for Ukraine - go fund me by Jodie Rogers

31/07/2025

The people you meet along the road in the middle of nowhere...
Kazakhstan 🇰🇿🫶

20/08/2023

Received a lovely letter from Ukraine 🫶

07/04/2023

30/03/2023

The last two weeks have been very slow indeed, with little to do, and with so many job opportunities knocking on my door, I have decided to leave Ukraine and return to work back in Australia.

I would like to thank everyone who made my time in Ukraine so amazing, I've set out what I achieved to set out, which was to deliver an ambulance to Ukraine. I delivered two!! Actually four with the help of other drivers. I've taught students at the University and in the Emergency Hospital, I've made friendships along the way that will always be treasured. I've seen the beautiful city of Lviv, I don't think there wasn't a street I didn't walk down, I've driven the country side of neighbouring regions and I've watch spring show it's face.

My decision to leave early was not made lightly, there are a number of reasons, but primarily returning to work and putins movement of nuclear weapons to Belarus were my driving factors. Leaving early was fraught with complications, and in the end, I've had to navigate my own way out and bear the costs involved. I've self funded my entire trip and to loose my sponsored flight was a kick in the guts. The money raised by my Ambos for Ukraine - go fund me by Jodie Rogers was wholly used to bring Ambulances over, and if there are any questions regarding this, I can provide a liability statement to who ever questions the validity of my efforts.

I leave Ukraine sad, sad for the people that are being affected by this war. Sad for those that are working tirelessly to try to help those that are injured and displaced by this war. Sad at the amount of destruction that's occurring to the towns and cities in this country.

I also leave happy, happy that I have done something to help. Happy that I have so many people back home that believed in me. Happy that I have taught students, provided two ambulances, driven across Europe twice, tasted mulled w**e, eaten Salo, tried Borsh, and listened to the stories that have been shared with me.

I want to end by saying thankyou, thankyou to my family, my friends, my work colleagues, my neighbours, my riding buddies and most of all to the people who never met me, but heard what I was doing and decided to follow along and help out. With out the support of all of you Bukhmut wouldn't have an Ambulance for the 6 volunteer medical students to use.

26/03/2023

There are no flights in or out of Ukraine. No local flights, no charter flights, no scenic flights. When I heard a plane today, I checked for an air alert. Fortunately there wasn't one. It's interesting the things you become more aware of in your surroundings when you need too!

23/03/2023

With most of the team in London for their charity Auction and dinner tonight, I had free time to walk and explore. The views are from Park-Pam'yatka "Vysokyy Zamok", one of the highest hills you can walk in the city, and I then meandered my way back to the Ukraine Catholic University. A stunning 15° here today with many out and about in the city.

23/03/2023

This is one of the Ambulances we have been putting together for the Neonatal Hospital in Sumy.
Was a bit of fun making this video!

22/03/2023

I've had a couple of days in the office, finalising and organising my courses, and last night I went across to Poland for assist another charity to bring 4 x 4 vehicles in for evacuation purposes.

There is a tonne of work going on behind the scenes which I'm not involved with, and Im told more Ambulances are coming, and I can help by raising more money for fuel.

So far I have brought 4 Ambulances into Ukraine, the first one my 'Ambos for Ukraine' crowd funding paid for and delivered to Bakhmut. The second my 'Ambos for Ukraine' paid for fuel and expenses to get from UK to Ukraine. The other two were brought in with me by a collaboration between other charities including SMART Medical Aid.

It costs between $1200 - $1300 Aud to bring one vehicle packed to the roof with humanitarian aid and medical supplies. I know I'm never going to reach my target of $100,000 as I do not have corporate sponsorship and donors, but I can assist to raise money for fuel.

If you wish to help, please like and share, ask your friends to share......
If you can spare funds, please donate 🙏
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ambos-for-ukraine

19/03/2023

Sunday mornings in Lviv are quieter than the Monday to Friday hustle and bustle, many church services and the sounds associated with them echo in the streets, I took a walk to Lychakiv Cemetery, where there were few people and a sense of calm, the birds were singing on this glorious sunny spring day. The Cemetery is 103 acres and over 300,000 are buried here, so much history all in one place. I've got a thing for cemeteries, the peacefulness and quiet, it's difficult for me to describe, but I feel a sense of calm walking though the pathways of so much history, until I saw the graves outside the Cemetery walls lined with Ukraine flags of blue and yellow and red and black.... these are the graves of the brave individuals that decided to fight for their country and lost their battle in the last 12 months..... the graves look ever so temporary, and there were hundreds of them, mostly men, who are mourned by their loved ones. What really affected me was a soldier walking through the isles with red carnations in his hand, I could see the frustration on his face as he was trying to find maybe his brother, father, sister, uncle or friend amongst the many rows of newly laid graves... this poor lad, the desperation in his eyes, I wanted to give him a hug, but knew it wasn't my place to do so. So many lives lost, and this in Lviv is just one of the many Burial grounds across the country where so many have failed to survive. It's a tragedy, and in amongst the flags, and flowers, I found an Australian scarfe tied to a cross of what I can only assume was a lad who lived in Australia who came home to defend his country.
Walking further through the Cemetery I came across the organised rows of identical crosses, that are of those who lost their lives in 1918/19 Soviet Ukraine battle, all of which were Polish, some 3800 of them laid to rest here on the side of the hill in Lviv.
It's ironic that outside the walls of the Cemetery, a soccer game occurs with spectators, the sounds of whistles and people talking, while accross the fence, so many people take their final resting place so those playing soccer can have some kind of freedom, which it's not.... while people here try to get on with life, so many more are drying or are seriously injured trying to defend what's rightly theirs. It's hard to get my head around this, Sunday morning soccer vs armed conflict 8 hours away..... it's surreal really....
Help me bring more Ambulances into Ukraine so people can survive this horror and their loved ones don't have to mourn their loss.....https://www.gofundme.com/f/ambos-for-ukraine

18/03/2023

Today, I'm having a day off! I've only had 2.5 days off since arriving a month ago, and I had planned to head into old town Lviv to get lost amongst the old buildings and cobblestone streets, but I will instead be staying at my accommodation as air raid alerts echo through my neighbourhood yet again. The alerts are regular, they have been going all night, all week actually. I don't know why, there was something mentioned about Belarus and Russian planes near the black Sea. I read the news, but can't rely on any of it being accurate.

Spring is starting to show itself in Lviv, the days are getting warmer and tiny buds on the trees are starting to appear, spring time bulbs are poking their gorgeous flowers from the cold damp soil. In a couple of weeks, I'm looking forward to see the city come to life with colour as nature does its thing.

In the month I've been here, I've driven two Ambulances from the UK, one my fundraiser paid for with all of the donations received in Australia. The second my fundraiser covered the fuel expenses as well as paying for the Ambulance stretchers. I've assisted in the delivery of not only these two ambulances, but two other ambulances, four Ute's, one van and the Neonatal Ambulance from the Netherlands. I've taught at the university, and at the hospital. I've packed and delivered orders and I've raised over $13,000 Aud in 4 months.

I've met some beautiful people, from all over, not just Ukraine, and I really hope to raise more funds to get just one more Ambulance here.

Fundraising is a difficult task, for those that have done it, know. Fundraising on social media, is also difficult. Unfortunately people are opinionated behind the safety of their keyboards, and I've had to learn to ignore the criticism and negative comments that appear in my inboxes.

For all of those that called me a scammer,
For all of those that called me a N**i,
For all of those that called me a fascist,
Your words had no effect, and you wasted your time!

I want to thank every who has supported me emotionally and mentally, and I want to thank everyone who has donated to my fundraiser. 🇦🇺🙏💛💙🇺🇦

If you wish to help https://www.gofundme.com/f/ambos-for-ukraine