MedAid is a UK Charity

Supporting communities suffering the effects of war

Our Story

MedAid was founded in early 2022 by Charlie, Gavin, and Nick, and was soon joined by Kat, Eddie, Ariane, and Catherine. The founders and Ariane shared a common background in finance and journalism in Eastern Europe during the 1990s, as well as a renewed commitment to supporting Ukraine—firstly in achieving peace and stability, and secondly in advancing the development of civil society in the post-Soviet era.

In the immediate term, this meant helping Ukraine in its hour of need—and that remains our mission today. We quickly identified medical services and supplies as an area where we could have the greatest impact; greatly assisted by Kat, Eddie, and Catherine, who brought many years of medical and mental health expertise and connections into the leadership.

The timeline below shows how we’ve built strong partnerships on the ground and received vital support from several foundations and many generous individuals.

Today, MedAid International is an established UK charity delivering medical supplies, mobile doctor services, and mental health support in Ukraine. We work closely with local partners—including healthcare providers and mental health agencies—to ensure that donor funds are allocated effectively and create meaningful impact.

Meet the team

Ariane
Cowley

TRUSTEE

Ariane Cowley has worked as an investment banker and journalist, chronicling changes in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Leaving her career at Lehman Brothers in New York, she spent over a decade living in Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, and travelled extensively in Ukraine as a journalist and investment analyst. She has been involved with numerous charities, currently serving as a trustee of First Year Africa. A Swiss national, Ariane was a John Harvard scholar at Harvard University.

Charles
Harman

CO-FOUNDER

Charles Harman had a 37 year career in investment banking, most recently as a Vice Chairman of J.P.Morgan. He is currently Deputy Chair of Council and a trustee of the University of Oxford. He is also a trustee of The Big Give and of First Year Africa, a charity which he co-founded to help alleviate high infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. He is a director of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (London’s leading independent literary agency) and Klein Constantia.

Nicholas
Mather

CO-FOUNDER & TRUSTEE

Nicholas Mather is a Managing Director at GlobalData PLC where he runs the economic research business TS Lombard. He was previously managing director of Breakingviews, – the financial commentary service purchased by Reuters. Prior to that, he spent 20 years in investment banking working in Asia, Middle East and Europe. In the 1990s, he lived in Moscow and has travelled extensively across Russia and Ukraine. He read Economics at York University.

Gavin
Rankin

CO-FOUNDER & TRUSTEE

Gavin Rankin is a qualified Chartered Accountant and former fund manager with many years financial services experience. He was a Managing Director at WNS Group, providing financial research, analyst and analytics services to banks and investment firms. In the 1990s he spent 10 years building financial service businesses in the Czech Republic and Russia. In addition to MedAid International, he is also a Fundraising board member of the charity Missing People.

Catherine
Kinane

MENTAL HEALTH ADVISOR

Professor Kinane is the former Medical Director at Combat Stress. Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health. She has had a prestigious career and has been a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) since 1994. She is currently also Professor (Visiting) Faculty of Health and Social Care at Canterbury Christchurch University and previously served as Executive Medical Director and Consultant Psychiatrist at Kent and Medway NHS Trust. She has worked internationally and in the independent sector as well as charity.

Eddie
Chaloner

MEDICAL ADVISOR

Eddie Chaloner is a recently retired consultant surgeon. After qualifying from Oxford University in 1989 he completed higher professional surgical training in London and South Africa. He served with the British Army and undertook several missions for the HALO Trust, Medicins sans Frontières and other charities. He is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Conflict and Health at Kings College London and St Georges University, London.

Kateryna
Karpenko

MEDICAL SUPPLIES LEAD

Kateryna Karpenko is a Cambridge University History graduate. Born and raised in Irpin near Kyiv, she now works in tech in the UK. She maintains close links with hospitals, government and civilian groups across Ukraine. Her father, Oleksandr Karpenko an Orthopedic Traumatologist was Head of the Surgery Department in Irpin City Hospital when Russian troops invaded and destroyed his hospital.

Viktoriia
Petrova

MOE KOLO, LEAD PSYCHOLOGIST

Viktoriia is a clinical psychologist, cognitive-behavioural therapist, and EDMR therapist. She has been leading a project on monitoring and managing cases of sexual violence in different age groups for the National Health Service of Ukraine and is a trainer-supervisor for the intervention “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” by the World Health Organisation. Viktoriia has worked extensively with psychologists, doctors and social workers on the front line in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In 2024, she acted as a consultant in developing the “Self-Help” training module within the First Lady of Ukraine’s mental health initiative “How Are U?”, and served as a scientific consultant for the Ukrainian translation of the cognitive behavioural therapy-based self-help guide “7 Steps” developed by the UK National Health Service.

Timeline

February 2022

Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

March 2022

Charles, Gavin and Nick start fund raising to finance the provision of medical supplies to hospitals close to the Ukrainian frontline.

April 2022

MedAid International created as a fund raising vehicle name, targeting £130,000.

April 2022

First delivery of medical supplies to warehouse in northern Slovakia; supply route from northern Slovakia to eastern Ukraine established; first meeting with STEP-IN NGO set up by young doctors to offer mobile medical services in remote villages.

June 2022

Eddie Chaloner and Kat Karpenko join the leadership team bring surgical specialist knowledge and hospital relationship management to the team.

June 2022

MedAid starts relationship with DePaul Ukraine in the shelter sector.

July 2022

MedAid purchases new Fiat Ducato minibus for STEP-IN

September 2022

STEP-IN starts operating from a forward base near Dnipro.

October 2022

First fund raising dinner in London.

Winter 2022

MedAid finances 600 person air-raid shelter refurb and four heated tents to support the homeless in Kharkiv city and region (DePaul).

March 2023

MedAid incorporated as a company in the UK.

May 2023

MailForce Charity grants MedAid £250,000 to support.

June 2023

Moe Kolo mental health NGO founded with support of MedAid and partners Pavel, Roman and Viktoria.

September 2023

Meeting with Father Vitaliy Novak, head of DePaul Ukraine.

October 2023

First donation from Oak Foundation to Moe Kolo mental health.

April 2024

Ariane Cowley joins the leadership team to support the mental health group counselling activity.

March 2024

Apotheker Ohne Grenzen commits to partner with MedAid to provide supply and logistics in 2025.

June 2024

Father Vitaliy of DePaul conscripted by the army.

September 2024

MedAid registered as a charity in the UK.

October 2024

First meeting of MedAid mental heath and medical services partners in west Ukraine.

November 2024

MedAid receives $950k three year grant from Oak Foundation to fund Moe Kolo’s mental health group therapy roll-out.

December 2024

Dr Catherine Kinane from Combat Stress joins leadership as mental health advisor.

May 2025

MedAid’s 1000 Days appeal raises £100,000.

May 2025

Moe Kolo adds counselling capacity for Lviv emergency medical workers and plans on adding additional cities.

June 2025

Pavlo, co-founder of Moe Kolo, conscripted into the army.

June 2025

MedAid completes funding for mobile medical services for fourth year running (STEP-IN).

Partners and Supporters

Medical Services →

Our mobile teams have completed 44,837 medical consultations in war-torn regions since June 2022.

Medical Supplies →

We deliver critical medical equipment and supplies directly to hospitals and field stations across Ukraine.

Mental Health →

Through our local partner we’ve provided therapy to over 9,200 Ukrainians, reducing PTSD and trauma symptoms.

Latest News

  • UKRAINE ROAD TRIP DIARIES: Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia: closer still to the war

    Days 6 & 7: Anti-aircraft action beside us at a petrol station. From Dnipro to Zaporizhzhia, the front feels uncomfortably close. We descend underground to train for mass trauma. Here, technology kills — and tries to heal. Return to Day 5. Driving south that evening, we felt the war’s proximity. At a petrol station an [...]

  • UKRAINE ROAD TRIP DIARIES: Kharkiv: Saving lives under drone attack

    Day 5: Kharkiv’s surgeons work by day — and supply the front by night. We learn how wounded soldiers are evacuated under constant drone threat. Two out of three vehicles surviving is considered success. This is modern warfare’s grim arithmetic. Return to Days 3 & 4.  Thursday 30th October Olha, head of surgery at Zaitsev [...]

  • UKRAINE ROAD TRIP DIARIES: Kharkiv: Living at the edge of war

    Days 3 & 4: A single day takes us from Lviv, via medieval mosaics in Kyiv to Georgian lamb under curfew in Kharkiv. Here the war is closer, louder, and impossible to ignore. Cemeteries tell one story, mobile medical clinics another. Kharkiv is a city that refuses to stop living. Return to Day 1&2  Tuesday [...]

  • UKRAINE ROAD TRIP DIARIES: Lviv, Beauty under sirens, our journey begins

    Days 1 & 2: Over the next four posts we will tell the story of our eight-day 2000 km road trip across Ukraine last October; we will describe the extraordinary people we met and what we discovered about the country and the war. Lviv looks like Central Europe at peace — cafés full, streets alive [...]

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