S. was waiting in the corridor of the MdM Polyclinic for her appointment, while her young daughter, just one year old, was sleeping in her arms. The mother and young daughter came to Greece shortly after the start of hostilities in Ukraine, leaving her husband and eldest son behind.
Upon arriving in Greece, she was hosted by a friendly family who had come to Greece in 2014, after the crisis in Crimea. They had all experienced the devastating effects of the war and the immense difficulty of leaving their country in search of safety in a foreign land.
After the first few days in Greece, immediate issues that needed to be addressed emerged. S. suffers from diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory problems and breast cancer. She had started chemotherapy but her deportation from Ukraine interrupted the treatment long before it was completed. After the difficult journey from Kharkiv to the Romanian border and from there to Greece, she was again faced with the uncertainty of her health.
She found out about the operation of MdM Open Polyclinic through a group of Ukrainian women living in Greece. From her first visit, her immense concern was evident, both for what she and her family are already experiencing and for the future. Her first contact with the Social Service of the Polyclinic was reassuring for her, as she was able to get answers to many practical questions that were troubling her. How she will find her medication, how she will integrate into the new community, what support she will have and of course what will happen with her chemotherapy treatments.
The MdM team made sure that she had a thorough clinical examination for her health, matching her medications with those available according to the active substance and the necessary medical instructions. She was soon linked to a public hospital for monitoring and continuation of her chemotherapy treatments.
In their Open Polyclinics, Médecins du Monde operate daily an integrated and cross-sectoral system of support services focusing on the case management approach, including the individual electronic file of each beneficiary, aiming at the relief and care of displaced people arriving in Greece from Ukraine. Since the beginning of the action, more than 2,400 people have been supported, receiving medical care, psychosocial support and/or material assistance in order to cope with the daily difficulties they experience. This initiative is supported by Sani/Ikos Group, which, with a sense of social responsibility, supports the action of Médecins du Monde, ensuring the protection and well-being of vulnerable people seeking help in Greece.
In the hallway of the Polyclinic, S. stood in front of a photo of three children from Baghdad who, despite the disaster around them, were smiling at the photographer. The pediatrician at the polyclinic greeted her and after talking about her daily life, asked her to come into the examination room. That day, the visit to the polyclinic was for her young daughter’s vaccinations and her medical booklet.
