8-year-old Ukranian refugee with cerebral palsy gets big help from Burnaby Firefighters

An eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who fled fighting in Ukraine with his family finally has the medical equipment he desperately needs, thanks to the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society.

When Bogdan Motorenko and Yelyzaveta Motorenko left Ukraine with their son Mark, they couldn’t bring his medical equipment with them.

When they settled in Burnaby, they reached out to local MP Peter Julian for help.

“We immediately contacted the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society for assistance, and thanks to the Burnaby firefighters’ generous donation and after months of coordinating between the family, the firefighters and the post office in Ukraine, the equipment has finally arrived,” Julian said.

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This undertaking took months of logistical planning, and would have easily cost the family thousands of dollars.

“It was impossible for a refugee family fleeing from a war zone to come up with such an enormous amount,” he added.

President of the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society, Scott Alleyn, says that they were honored to have been given the opportunity to make it happen.

“It is our joy to see Mark’s smile as he sees his equipment finally arrive in Canada. We hope that this equipment will make a huge difference in his life,” Alleyn said.

The boy’s father also thanked the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society for helping transport the exercise equipment, which “will tremendously increase Mark’s mobility and quality of life.”

The Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society raises money for community groups and non-profit organizations.