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ian woman can channel her efforts and attain her goals. Before we can even attempt to reinforce our ethnic identity, we must approach the task of building the ranks of our organizations and, in particular, UNWLA. Since Ukrainians, as all other Americans, have become geographically dispersed, we need to search each other out, especially if we do not live in large metropolitan areas. Some of us may have detached ourselves from the community and now feel insecure to reenter. Others may have intermarried and may feel that they will not be as openly accepted. Still others may have lost their facil ity in speaking Ukrainian fluently. Each or all of these factors may discourage people who feel they cannot measure up to our standards. We must, and I stress, MUST make it our goal to form a bridge to bring these people into the ranks of the active Ukrainians. We must make each and every person feel that her or his contri butions are invaluable. The number of active participants in most or indeed all Ukrainian American organizations is rapidly dimin ishing, and unless we refocus our goals, we are fighting a losing battle. Historically, what nourishes ethnic community activity is new immigration which is not plausible or forseeable for us. If I can give you a personal example — Three years ago, several of us, with the encouragement of Olha Hna- teyko, formed branch 95 in the Poughkeepsie/Ker- honkson, NY, area. As word of mouth spread, we ulti mately had approximately 25 members signed up. Many of these members are women who have not been involved in the Ukrainian community for years, or not at all. And yet, as each of them has been openly accepted, and our policy is one of encouragement and tapping every individual’s particular likes and talents, many of these women have become very enthusiastic and hard working participants in our activities. So, our first goal must be to increase the ranks of our Ukrainian organizations. And, as we are aware and have been reminded, my or our generation must pre pare itself to take over the ranks of UNWLA and other community organizations. At the recent 50th anniver sary dinner of OUR LIFE, I was astonished at how few, excuse my expression, ’’younger” (youth is relevant, of course) women attended. We must ask ourselves where they are and why they are not active. We must try to rejuvenate interest in our organizations, perhaps rebuild the infrastructure of our communities to better fit today’s lifestyles, move forward, and not remain standing still. The longer we neglect the preservation of our Ukrainian identity and heritage, the deeper the void becomes. If we work in numbers, as part of a viable organization such as UNWLA, our goals will become more attainable. We, as members of UNWLA, have many and various channels to work through to reach our end of keeping Ukraine alive in our communities. The first is obviously to reach our youth — perhaps through establishing Ukrainian nursery schools and Saturday schools in our communities. Since my generation was raised in the US, in this multicultural nation, we can understand the uni que approach which should be taken to today’s child of Ukrainian descent. Our branch has recently taken over the administration of the Ukrainian Saturday school in Kerhonkson. It is a small school of approximately 25 students, of various ages (from 5 to 16), of various backgrounds, capabilities, and facility with the Ukrain ian language. Therefore, each case needs to be approached in a unique fashion to draw out the most and the best from each child. It is no easy task, but how rewarding it can be! Last Sunday our school held its annual music festi val. It was a great success in many ways. One of our most active UNWLA members, who herself was not connected with the Ukrainian community for at least 25 years, enrolled her two teenage daughters, who have never attended Ukrainian school before, into our Ukrainian Saturday school. This was their first year in the school. They have become extremely excited and enthusiastic dancers and looked truly proud to don their authentic Ukrainian costumes and perform several dan ces for the community on Sunday! Every Ukrainian child we manage to nurture is a gold medal pinned onto the chest of the entire Ukrainian community. The Ukrainian woman of the 90’s can best understand and help to pass on our culture and traditions to today’s children. Another possible important accomplishment of the Ukrainian woman of the 90’s could be the establishment of public relations between the Ukrainian and American communities. What effect will the independence of Ukraine have on the Ukrainian American community? Will it attract new people or will we witness a quick decline in its membership? We must do our best to ensure the latter does not take place. For now we have a new mission: the existence of a strong, active Ukrainian community may be critical in securing political support and respect for Ukraine in the US. We are Ukraine’s ambassadors in the US and can gain this respect, but I believe, this must be done as part of an organized structure. There is a myriad of ways by which this can be accomplished: En masse we can inform our politicians of our community’s existence, of our dedication and support of Ukraine and its interests. We can attempt to inform and correct any falsehoods we witness in the press and other publications. We can hold informational seminars about Ukraine, its traditions and culture in educational institutions or any other well-attended milieu in the American community to enlighten the public that we are no longer “USSR” citizens. On a personal note, our branch has discovered that our local congressman, to whom we paid a visit, knew next to nothing about the devastation of Chernobyl. We have discovered that many of our neighbors have never seen a Ukrainian pysanka or embroidery when we held our annual exhibit in our "НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ", ЖОВТЕНЬ 1993 19
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