Connect to Care

Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by a commitment to service, whether advancing democratic governance, supporting vulnerable communities, or leading initiatives that strengthen systems and institutions in complex environments. Volunteering with Global Care Force in Ukraine is a continuation of that calling. 
 
This deployment offers a chance to stand alongside those delivering essential primary care in challenging conditions. While I don’t come from a clinical background, I bring years of experience in international development, humanitarian response, and working directly with local partners and communities. My role is to provide practical support, whether through logistics, coordination, or being a reliable presence where needed. 
 
Global Care Force is making a tangible impact in Ukraine, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to that mission.

Ann and Steve have been asked to fill in for the May Ukrainian Mission and they agreed without hesitation. This will be their 3rd and 4th trips to work with our Ukrainian friends. These clinics are particularly important to Ann and Steve because they want the Ukrainian people and fellow clinical staff members to know that they have not been forgotten and they full-heartedly support them.

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.

My name is Jimmy Williams, and I’m an RN with almost twenty years of healthcare experience, most of my nursing experience being in critical care. Throughout my career, there has only been one driving force: the desire to help others. I have followed the Ukrainian war response for the past few years and have tried many ways to help from afar including fundraising, clothing drives, book drives, protests, etc. However, as our leadership continues to stir fear and hateful rhetoric about the Ukrainian people, the desire to do more has burned hotter and hotter. Finally, I felt the best way to give back was to take my time and education and put it to use where it’s most needed: within the Ukrainian borders. I am happy to partner with Global Care Force for this amazing opportunity and ask for help in raising funds to assist with these efforts.

Global Care Force is committed to helping our partners in Ukraine. Global Care Force sends primary care teams, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, trauma care specialists, and non-medical volunteers to communities in Ukraine.

I am excited to join with Global Care Force in the Ukraine to help those who have been displaced by war and now lack access to basic medical care. I am impressed with the efficiency and clarity of mission of Global Care Force. I am personally excited about reconnecting with my sense of purpose as a physician by using my skills and training to assist those in need.

I am looking forward to returning 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.

I am looking forward to returning 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 will be 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 deploy to Ukraine in June. If conditions permit, I hope to visit the real Odesa, completing the circle I hope to close. My journey, shaped by generations, has led me to a path to continue my passions. It is a legacy, purpose, and hope in action. 

I’m so excited for 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.

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 am fortunate to have the opportunity to join one of Global Care Force’s dedicated Primary Care Teams. In June, we will be traveling to Jordan to provide care for the refugees there. I consider it a privilege to serve and hope to make even a small difference in their lives.

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.

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 are 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 are excited to work with our Jordan colleagues and translators in the well-organized mission of GCF.

I am both very excited and very grateful to be a volunteer 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.

I am deeply committed to using my skills to provide medical care to underserved communities around the world. Volunteering for Global Care Force, an organization that offers aid in areas of need, allows me to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives while contributing to the amelioration of global health. I am eager to be part of a team dedicated to bringing healing and hope to those who need it most.