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Past pupils of Crescent College Comprehensive SJ are volunteering to help those who are critically wounded in the war with Russia and feed departing women and children. They are working with an organisation called the Gorta Group on the Slovakian-Ukraine border, supplying medical equipment for a Ukrainian hospital and flour for bakeries. Their collaboration with an Garda Síochána was covered on RTE news on Sunday, 3 April 2022.

Liam O’Connell SJ, former headmaster of Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, reports on the work of the past pupils. He says:

“Shane Leahy (Crescent 1992) is at present a volunteer with the Gorta Group, on the Slovakian-Ukraine border, working on logistics in supplying a hospital 240 km into Ukraine, in Ivano-Frankivsk.

“He works with Ray Jordan (Crescent 1988), and also with David Geary (Crescent 1990) who is advising on legal structures and chasing down insulin. David is the nephew of Irish Jesuit Ronan Geary and a regular visitor to Cherryfield Lodge Nursing Home in Dublin.”

Shane Leahy comments on the two initiatives of the Gorta group that are currently taking place to support the Ukrainian people. He states:

“They were able to deliver 40 cubic metres of medical equipment to the hospital in Ivano-Frankivsk on Saturday. These were some of the first medical supplies to cross the border from Slovakia to Ukraine. This was implemented under the approval of the Ministry of Health in Kyiv.

“The hospital delegation met with employees of the Gorta Group who are on the ground here, at the Slovak-Ukraine border and transferred the equipment, directly. The town where the hospital is situated is now under attack, so it’s critical that they received the supplies. The supplies are mainly for critical wound care.”

Shane continues:

“Another critical initiative that the Gorta Group is involved with is supporting bakeries in Ubl’a [on the Slovakian-Ukraine border] to feed departing Ukrainian women and children. We are working with another excellent Slovak NGO 1317 to provide the flour for a bakery in Ukraine who is baking bread for these women and children.

“We are simply providing the special flour required to bake baguettes from Bratislava. The people in Ukraine are doing the rest on a voluntary/pro bono basis as they are on a war footing.”

Speaking on 5 April 2022, Shane Leahy said:

“Just to update we successfully delivered 8 generators into Ivano-Frankivsk (this was the site of the hypersonic bomb) on Saturday/Sunday which were very generously donated by the Kirby Group. Ruairi Ryan, who organised and delivered the generators to Slovakia, has all his children in Crescent.

“We also had a delivery of large generators from Gorta/Self Help Africa funds, together with 12 trucks/vans of medical supplies, that was delivered by 28 Garda”. Click here for RTE coverage ».

Click here to donate to the Fundraising Page ». The Gorta Group will be putting people’s generous donations towards ongoing, much needed support for the hospital, and for bread production.

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