In early September, the American fund “Protez Foundation” accepted another group of Ukrainian soldiers for free prosthetics of lost limbs. This is the 21st group of Ukrainians since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion who will be able to receive high-quality treatment and rehabilitation in the States due to the activities of our diaspora abroad.

 

A person can still have a full life even after amputation with the help of quality prosthetics. Foreign charitable foundations and public organizations, which are established and actively supported by Ukrainian diaspora representatives abroad, make a great contribution to the solution of this issue. In particular, one of such funds is the "Protez Foundation" from Minnesota, USA.

The «Protez Foundation» has a guiding principle of giving high-quality prostheses for children, civilians, and military personnel who have lost limbs for free. The procedure for prosthetics is performed in the US, but the foundation's Ukrainian clinics can handle additional maintenance, replacement, or repair of prosthetics that have already been installed. They have been operating in Svalyava since 2023 and in Kyiv since August 2024. The Protez Foundation's website provides a direct submission process for a prosthesis installation application without any unnecessary bureaucracy or intermediaries.

 

 

The “Protez Foundation” was created by Ukrainians and is now supported by Ukrainian diaspora representatives abroad. For example, among the financial donors of the fund is a construction company «Almco Plumbing» from California, USA, which is owned by our former compatriot Vlad Khorenko. “Almco Plumbing” is known for its plumbing services in the San Diego area and Los Angeles. Repairing and replacing broken pipes is one of their primary services.

The company’s cooperation with the "Protez Foundation" started in May 2024 as a private charity initiative of the owner "Almco Plumbing". For a brief amount of time, the Khorenko couple was a genuine family to military Alexander from the Sumy region, who served in the SOF UA and came to the US to receive prostheses for amputated limbs. "I am sure that we will continue to cooperate, and I even have some ideas for promoting the "Protez Foundation" in California," Vlad Khorenko says. "I just can’t remain indifferent".

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the couple has been providing humanitarian assistance to civilians and military through their own charity fund, «I Care Ministry». From food kits for frontline residents and financial support to local volunteers to purchasing equipment for ZSU - the variety and scale of this assistance is impressive. “In the first two months of the war, our charity fund was the only single that allowed civilians in some front-line cities in eastern and southern Ukraine to receive humanitarian aid", - Vlad recalls.

The “Protez Foundation” fund reported that almost 60,00 Ukrainians needed prosthetics due to injuries caused by war as of May 2024