Mum-of-three who fixes up ambulances to send to Ukraine planning anniversary mission

A mum-of-three who buys and fixes up ambulances to send to Ukraine to help with the war effort is planning a new humanitarian mission there.

Aliya Aralbayeva, a lawyer originally from Kazakhstan who now lives in Wimbledon, helped launch charity Medical Life Lines Ukraine (MLLU) in February last year after the Russian invasion.

To mark the first anniversary of the start of the war, MLLU will head to Ukraine to donate ambulances and medical supplies.

Aliya is married to a Ukrainian and has relatives in the country, which spurred the group’s early fundraising efforts.

She said: “Since MLLU was formed I, along with friends old and new, have raised enough money to buy 16 reconditioned ambulances that have been driven out to Ukraine, packed with all forms of aid – medical equipment, clothing and food.

“Sadly, one year on the Russian aggression is targeting the Ukrainian population with even greater privations and misery and it is more important than ever to extend a genuine hand of friendship to the blameless civilians who are the innocent victims of these callous and relentless acts.”

MLLU is supported by King’s Health Partners (KHP), an academic health sciences centre based at the Guy’s Hospital site in London Bridge, and works with Professor Louise Rose, who provided contacts and helped source medical equipment. 

The upcoming Convoy of Hope will continue the group’s effort to support those in need in Ukraine. 

Aliya said: “The fundraising continues apace, and we are currently working towards having at least six ambulances to deliver in the Convoy of Hope at the beginning of March, just after the first anniversary of the invasion.

“In the last 12 months, clinics have been destroyed and medics and supplies have been diverted to the front line. But the civilian demand for humanitarian aid and medical support is massive.”

Hospitals in Ukraine have lost ambulances either due to enemy action or to support Ukraine’s military. They urgently require good quality vehicles to provide the medical support that their civilian populations desperately need.

Vulnerable people in small communities in rural areas of Ukraine are hard to reach, their needs often unmet, and the MLLU ambulances will enable small teams to coordinate the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid and medical support.

The ambulances arrive in Ukraine filled to the brim with medical and practical aid including dressings and medical tools, PPE, defibrillators, generators, clothes, blankets and even toys for displaced people who have lost everything.

The MLLU team is identifying specific hospitals and projects where their donated ambulances can make a real difference, as well as the exact type of vehicles that will do the best possible job for them. 

With this information, the group tracks down the right vehicles to buy, ensuring they are in good condition and delivering them to Ukraine.

Each ambulance costs about £15,000 to buy, recondition and deliver. You can donate by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/Convoy23

Pictured top: Aliya, left, and friend, visited the Ukrainian border to donate ambulances and medical supplies (Picture: Medical Life Lines Ukraine)