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Melinda and I were honored for the opportunity to use our medical and professional skills in providing compassionate health care to the people of Ukraine who need our assistance.
We see our serve as being an important part of being citizens of the world.
We considered it a privilege to serve with Global Care Force and make even a small difference.

My experiences in Iraq and Syria profoundly shaped who I am. They solidified my life’s purpose: to serve others wherever I’m needed most. In conflict zones, I saw undue suffering and communities surviving without basic medical care, and I realized that healing, not just protecting, was my calling. Those moments moved me beyond words and set me on the path to becoming a global health physician.

I made my home in Central Europe for medical school many years ago and they took me in as one of their own. I returned to volunteer with Global Care Force in 2024 and for a second time in November to give back to a region that I have so many fond memories of.

I was excited to return to Ukraine for the third time in October. I’ve been honored to meet and work with some amazing people. I enjoy learning more about the Ukrainian people each trip I am a part of. I am impressed by how the clinics are organized and the resolve of the people that we meet. The team in Ukraine have become like family and I am thankful for each experience that I have to serve alongside them.

Throughout my career in Critical Care medicine, I have repeatedly witnessed how caring, hope and empathy, combined with the power of medicine, can create strength that can persevere and transcend the greatest of suffering. It was a great honor to be included on a medical mission team to Ukraine with the goal of providing some of these pillars of support to the Ukrainian people during this challenging and painful time.

Throughout my lifetime as a nurse and nurse practitioner, I have embraced the profound privilege of caring for others. This noble profession has not only humbled me but has also enriched my life in countless ways. My decision to serve in Ukraine stems from a deep commitment to the oath I took as a nurse—to uplift and advance our profession. I was happy to share the knowledge and blessings I have received, and I am truly honored to be considered for this role. My hope was to make a meaningful impact, no matter how small, by standing alongside the resilient people of Ukraine during this critical time.

I became a nurse to help others. To help the people of Ukraine was my honor, and I can think of no greater calling. I’m thrilled to be of service.   

I was honored to return in September! I love seeing the difference that trauma care and support make in addition to the medical services. Being of service in this way fills my heart. The war in Ukraine continues to have a devastating effect on everyone there — people who are simply trying to go about their daily lives. Witnessing the courage, resourcefulness, strength and compassion of both patients and teammates is humbling and powerful.

I’ve always told my kids to treat others well and have no regrets about what you should have done. I am at the stage in my career where I feel I need to do more than sit on the sidelines and watch what is happening in Ukraine. I knew if I didn’t do something now and take this opportunity to serve, I would regret it. I could have donated money, but I have a skill that I can offer to help others who are seeing their country slowly being destroyed. That’s why I continue to volunteer with the Mobile Medical Team.

As the people of Ukraine continue to endure, suffer, and resist the Russian invasion, I remain committed to providing humanitarian aid there. My first time there in February 2023 was intense and hard but rewarding. I felt my humble contribution towards caring for our patients to my core. I wished I could have stayed longer or done more, so I returned to serve in October 2023. The bond I made with the other volunteers lifted up my spirit, and I was honored to serve again in September 2025!

I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve the people at the US/Mexico border in need of care and with no other access to healthcare. I believe the need is great for this population, and I want to offer hope, health and compassion for them.

I am both very excited and very grateful to have volunteered with Global Care Force. As a Registered Nurse, I wish to care for the Ukrainian people, doing my very best to help relieve their pain, both physically and psychologically. As a human being, I wish to convey to the men, women, and children that I will meet how much I admire their strength and endurance and to let them know how much they mean to me and that I care.

After volunteering in Warsaw two years ago and attending to displaced community members from eastern Ukraine who were housed in large warehouses. I had the opportunity to visit Bucha, Irpin, and Kiev. Anyone so privileged to share those two experiences with Ukrainians would come home already trying to find a way to return. I am humbled to have served again with Global Care Force.

Ukraine holds a special place in Amy Hansen’s heart. She lived there as a teenager and has returned twice as a medical volunteer. She was excited to serve once again, this time with Global Care Force, providing provide primary care to Ukrainians affected by the war.

Serving those in need is my “heart work,” my calling. Wherever my two feet take me is my “mission field.” I am grateful that I have been provided with the education and the desire to serve. This combination of education and service blend well for caring for those who suffer from health disparities.

From the moment I learned about the immense suffering and desperation of refugees fleeing ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. I felt a deep-seated desire to help alleviate some of that pain. With a background in mental health and trauma-informed services, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join one of Global Care Force’s dedicated Primary Care Teams. In June, we traveled to Jordan to provide care for the refugees there. I considered it a privilege to serve and make even a small difference in their lives.

Since GCF’s initial mission to Ukraine, we have been blessed with the opportunity to care for people in Ukraine, El Paso and Egypt. We were excited to continue providing medical care through GCF in Jordan. In each clinic we’ve worked, the patients’ ability to be hopeful and positive despite the hardships faced, has inspired us to want to continually return and volunteer.

Providers working with Global Care Force have sometimes described the experience as transformative. For us, as retired physicians, our experiences in Ukraine and the Southern Border with GCF have allowed us to renew the ideals of service that launched our careers as physicians. While volunteering, we are entrusted with a message of hope as well as the opportunity to use medical skills in providing compassionate care to patients who humble us with their patience and resilience. We have appreciated the camaraderie of the GCF groups, and were excited to work with our Jordan colleagues and translators in the well-organized mission of GCF.

I returned to Ukraine to provide primary care to those in need. When I served with the Mobile Medical Team on my previous missions, I was impressed by the resiliency of the Ukrainians and the medical needs being met by Global Care Force. Many are displaced, others without running water and electricity in some villages, but they continue on with their daily lives. I also learned much about their long and rich cultural history as an independent country. I was honored and thankful to return and apply my skills to help support them in their time of need.

My insights and values were established early in life. I am grateful to my parents, the mothers and sisters at my school, St Francis Xavier’s Convent, for shaping the foundation of who I am. As a young child, I remember my grandmother, Nani, a powerful and distinguished woman, would leave the house and walk through impoverished areas, engaging with the community and distributing small gifts, fruits, soaps, postage stamps, all from her fabric shoulder bag. Nani also founded a girls’ school in her village home. Years later, our gifted Mom, a schoolteacher, took my sister and me with ‘gumboots’ to homes on narrow muddy lanes. She taught the women there to sew, knit, and do embroidery. She distributed pencils and paper. My exposure to a world of need set me on a path to travel all over the world to help. I visited disaster sites and saw the best of humanity, always returning home enriched. At the start of the conflict in Ukraine, I tried to visit but was unable. Instead, I went to Texas to help at the border. The first town I came across was Odessa, and I felt a wave of guilt and sadness! 
 
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in Ukraine in June.

I’m was reward by the opportunity to join a medical team providing health care in Ukraine this summer. I see it as an opportunity to use my health care training where it can make a real difference. Hopefully, my small gesture will be a positive light in someone’s world, and I know the experience will stay with me forever.

In March 2024, I went to Ukraine with Global Care Force and fell in love with the Ukrainian people. It was amazing to see their heart and compassion, considering what they are going through. I returned in October to continue the work I started in March and help in whatever capacity I can. If our presence there can provide some hope and relief to people who are exhausted, I want to be part of that team. I was honored to return in June 2025.

I was honored to return to Ukraine in June. The stories of resilience and suffering I encountered on my previous trip left a lasting impact on me, and I am committed to continuing to help provide medical care to those in need.