By Leah Gaffen
Assembling bulletproof vests probably was not a skill that anyone expected to pick up during their semester abroad.
But that is exactly what many NYU Prague students have been doing over the past week as they support the efforts of Post Bellum, a nonprofit organization that has raised over $5 million to supply protective equipment for soldiers in Ukraine. The fastest way for the Prague-based organization to buy and transport bulletproof vests is by enlisting the help of volunteers who can help put them together.
NYU Prague students joined the first volunteer brigade last Tuesday, which took place at the Czech Senate. Olivia Puntenney, a sophomore pre-med majoring in music performance, was one of them.
“We arrived at the Czech Senate, where they had set a room aside for us. Then the iron plates that go into the vests arrived in a truck, and we formed an assembly line to pass them inside.” The volunteers and the leaders figured out how to put the protective material inside the vests, including the heavy metal plates, making a “sandwich” of material. The vests, which weigh over 22 pounds when completed, can protect someone from the bullet of a pistol or an AK-74 – the most common weapons of Russian soldiers.
Since then, the organizers have moved to a warehouse in the Prague suburbs which can accommodate more volunteers. NYU Prague students have continued to participate, along with students from other local universities and high schools. Within the first week, the Post Bellum took truckloads of over 2,000 vests to the border. They are planning to send at least 10.000 more, and the volunteer brigades continue.
“It was such a strong experience – and so humbling as we spoke to volunteers whose families were in Ukraine,” said Olivia. “It felt good to be able to donate our time and do as much as we could.”