From that initial event he became aware of the urgent need for mental health support to the Ukrainian community in the UK which needed to be provided by Ukrainian counsellors (due to language difficulties). He spent several months researching the need not only amongst the UK Guests but also in Ukraine. He came across a publication by the international humanitarian charity called World Vision. The publication, called «No Peace of Mind».
«No Peace of Mind» was largely based on a recent article published in The Lancet 2019 and headed “New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review”.
«No Peace of Mind» also concluded from other published material (mostly from WHO) that «children are resilient and can cope if provided with adequate support. However, if left unattended, their symptoms will have mid- and long-term impacts; in 15-20 years’ time, a large percentage of the country’s workforce will be suffering from some sort of emotional or mental disorder. On top of what this will mean for individuals, families, and Ukrainian society at large, it will also inevitably have long-term economic impacts on the country.»
The conclusion from «No Peace of Mind» that made the greatest impact was:
The «No Peace of Mind» document had a strong and lasting effect on the Founder. He decided to start working on a business plan for a new charity that could make a difference to the lives of affected individuals, both children and adults. He recognised that the best way to help many affected children and adults was by focusing on preventative support to early-stage sufferers. By using technology and delivering the services online would have the potential to be scalable (reaching many affected children and adults) and would be cost effective.
During the winter of 2023 the founder met a Ukrainian Guest who had a strong commitment to sending clothing to wounded patients recovering in hospitals. She collected and bought clothing from her own small earnings (Universal Credit) to send to Ukraine. She asked if the charity would consider making it part of its mission.
In November 2023 the founder came across a newspaper article regarding the poor quality and shortages of surgical instruments used in many operating theatres and the effect this was having on unnecessary deaths. This caused low morale to spread. Imagine surgeons and nurses working long hours in the operating theatre, hardly taking any personal time, continuing to remain fully committed to the Hippocratic Oath, especially “I shall never intentionally cause harm to my patients, and will have the utmost respect for human life” but because having to use poor quality ‘tools’, some of their patients would die unnecessarily. When reading about this situation it had a significant effect on the founder. As a practicing Christian, he asked himself “What would Jesus do in these circumstances?” He came to the decision that the right thing to do was to press on and create a charity dedicated to raising significant amount of regular funding to be able to provide surgeons and nurses with the medical equipment for the surgeons and mental health support services for children and adults affected by early-stage disorders and focus on preventative solutions.
In April 2024 they approached England’s National Health Service (NHS) central procurement organisation, called NHS Supply Chain. They agreed to proceed once the charity gained Registration. The Ukrainian hospitals (all types) will be able to select from the half a million online catalogue, the equipment they need to be able to save lives, and knowing that they will be using identical products to
Also in April, the Founder and his wife were going on holiday via Stansted Airport and ended up speaking with the owner of a small specialist consultancy called Britsales who is a volunteer at the airport. The business owner offered to help Stefania develop its required software solutions and the website. We are very grateful for their ongoing support.
The application to the Government’s Charity Commission was prepared and presented during the summer of 2024. The Commission’s initial reaction was to ask the Trustees to strengthen certain areas due to the circumstances existing in Ukraine. One of their demands was to strengthen the transportation and logistics (within a war zone) by ensuring it was undertaken with great care. The Trustees is delighted to have partnered with ALS Customs Services, a specialist company that works with several Government departments in delivering to Ukraine high value goods, including end of life fire engines. The charity resubmitted its application and was delighted to receive Registration from the Commission at the end of September 2024. The strict demands placed upon us has helped us to improve.
The Trustees would like to thank the many people that have travelled with us on our journey and without their help we would not have been ready to launch. We are excited and look forward to rolling-out Stefania, starting with a pilot of 5 Counties in England (Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire), followed by the rest of the UK and reaching out to the 6 million Ukrainian community living in mainland Europe, and inviting them to join us so that all the refugees and British people together make a real meaningful difference to the lives of the Ukrainian people.
In May 2022 Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song «Stefania». Some Ukrainian Guests suggested naming the charity «Stefania» as well. He wasn’t certain about the charity name being associated with a song but decided to research it.