"Today I’m taking over David Beckham’s Instagram"
Footballer David Beckham has handed over his Instagram to a Ukrainian nurse to share the realities of the war.
Beckham, who has been a Unicef ambassador since 2005, shared a video message and asked his fans and followers to donate to help.
“Today I’m handing over my social channels to Iryna, the Head of the Regional Perinatal Centre in Kharkiv, Ukraine where she is helping mothers give birth,” he said.
“Please give what you can to support @UNICEF and people like Iryna using the donation link in my bio.”
His story then showed a series of videos and images from nurse Iryna who showed how doctors and nurses worked during war.
“Hello my name is Iryna, today i’m taking over David Beckham’s Instagram. In peacetime, I am the head of Kharkiv’s regional perinatal centre and a child anesthesiologist,” she said.
“Today I'm going to show you how we work in times of war and who we have become during these war days.”
Iryna shared harrowing images of basements, where expectant mothers, new mothers, and their babies were hidden to be safe from any shelling.
“On the first day of the war, all pregnant women and mothers were evacuated to the basement. It was a terrible three hours we spent together,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we can’t take babies who are in intensive care to the basement, because they rely on life-saving equipment.
“The first days were the most difficult. We had to learn how to work with bombings and strikes.”
Iryna confessed that since the war began on February 24, she had to work 24/7 and offers emotional support to all those around her.
She then shared an image of a woman and her newborn son who was born with breathing problems, but is “better now”.
“This is Yana and her baby son Mykhailo. On the second day of war, he was born with breathing problems. He is better now,” she said.
“But his family’s house was destroyed and they can’t go back.”
She urged Beckham's followers to continue donating to Unicef as their supplies have assisted greatly during the war zone.
“Unicef has been delivering supplies in Ukraine for years and they have good logistics to deliver ready-to-use kits to maternity hospitals,” she explained.
“The oxygen generators we received from Unicef help provide oxygen for children in the basement.
“We are probably risking our lives, but we don’t think about it at all. We love our work.
“Doctors and nurses here, we worry, we cry but none of us will give up.”
Iryna thanked the “whole world” for their support and those who had donated to Unicef to help the Ukrainian children.
“Thank you to everyone who watched my story, to everyone who is helping the Ukrainian children today.
“Every donation and every single one of you who donated matters to us. Huge thank you to the whole world for the support.”
Images: Instagram