As Ukrainians wait to see if, or when, Congress will pass a $60 billion aid package to assist in the battle against the ongoing Russian invasion, a local wireless company and nonprofit are asking for help in their effort to provide more than 800 wireless access points to the battered city of Irpin.
Located in the Kyiv region, the city of more than 65,000 people was invaded in late February 2022 as part of Russia’s Kyviv offensive. Dozens of structures, including roughly 20 schools and the region’s main airport, were destroyed in the month-long battle, which saw Ukrainian forces eventually recapture the city.
But rebuilding, especially given the ongoing war, has been hard and internet connectivity in the region, where school children and others must often duck into bomb shelters to avoid possible air assaults, is less than reliable.
After hearing about its Wireless School Initiative Grant program, officials at the city of Milwaukee – Irpin’s sister city– and leaders in the local Ukrainian community reached out to Franklin-based Advanced Wireless to see if Irpin might be a good fit for its 2024 grant.
After learning about the situation in Irpin, Darryl Morin, president and CEO of Advanced Wireless, Inc., realized the clear need for help.
“Once we learned that 20 of their schools have been either completely destroyed or severely damaged, it just seemed like a no-brainer,” Morin said.
Connecting community
Since then, the company has compiled 840 refurbished wireless access points that are currently awaiting shipment to the Ukrainian city. Once the access points arrive in Irpin, Advanced Wireless will train locals to install them.
The donation is being made in partnership with nonprofit organizations Friends of Be An Angel, Wisconsin Ukrainians and the City of Milwaukee.
“The technology we are donating is used by some of America’s largest corporations, these access points will work together in fidelity when they do have network connectivity, but most importantly if network connectivity is lost, they will begin to work independently,” Morin said. “What makes that important for Ukraine, is that network connectivity there is very unreliable. There could be a floor above you or below you that’s there one minute and not there the next.”
Morin estimated the cost of the donation and installation of the access points to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“It’ll be a significant dollar value,” Morin said. “And it’s something we’d like to invite other companies to support. We think it’s our obligation to help where we can, particularly with the children. They have nothing to do with any of this, yet they are suffering like so many others.”
Gratitude in war
Speaking remotely at a recent press conference about the donation, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn thanked Advanced Wireless, city leaders and local nonprofits for helping his community.
“We are very proud to have such great partners in our sister city Milwaukee,” said Markushyn through a translator. “Today we are fighting for our democracy, for our freedom, for our land, and for our right to exist. Without your support, this fight would not be possible. As of right now we do really need your help and we really count on your support. We have close to 25,000 people who were temporarily displaced, which is the (most people) in the whole Kyviv region.”
Also speaking at the press conference, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Milwaukee will continue to support its Ukrainian neighbors.
“We must continue to condemn this war against Ukraine,” Johnson said.
Ready to go
Speaking on Tuesday, Anya Verkhovskaya, board chairperson for the Mequon-based Friends of Be An Angel, said the nonprofit is still working to arrange shipping for the wireless access points. The nonprofit, which was established in 2022 to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians has delivered nearly $63 million to Ukraine since the beginning of the war through its partnerships with other nonprofits and non-governmental organizations.
“We are working right now on airlifting it because it will take so much less time. If not by plane we already have the sea route,” Verkhovskaya said. “If we are able to get an airlift, the equipment will arrive in Poland, be trucked to our warehouse in Lviv, and then by truck to Irpin.”
