Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
Nadia Кегесик cists of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Cathecists run boarding schools, called the Colegio Santa Olga, for girls of Ukrainian heritage in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Olga Korczagin has devoted her life to edu cating Ukrainian youth, most of them from remote colo nies and villages. The main objective of the Colegio Santa Olga for the last 50 years was to educate young women and to instill in them the value of the Ukrainian language, culture, traditions, and religion. Many gradu ates of their schools are now leaders in Ukrainian- Brazilian communities, as well as powerful figures in the Brazilian government in the states of Parana and Santa Catarina. The greatest achievement of the Ukrainian-Brazilian educators and politicians was the establishment of the Ukrainian language as a mandatory subject in public schools in the states of Parana and Santa Catarina in 1991. For this we must be thankful to State Representa tive Deputat Vera Viximicen Agelbert (a graduate of the Colegio Santa Olga in Prudentopolis) for proposing a bill making the Ukrainian language a required subject. Our long time scholarship recipient, Magdalena Lozo- vei, is the Federal Director and Inspector of the Ukrain ian Language Studies in both states. Magdalena was sponsored by UNWLA Branch 1 through high school. She later earned two degrees in pedagogy with a scho larship from Dr. Anna Samofal. She was also awarded a scholarship-in-part from the Prof. Vasyl Chaplenko Memorial Fund for her Ukrainian Language Studies in Canada. Brazil is the only country in the Diaspora where the Ukrainian language is a required subject in public schools in grades 5-12 in two of its states. In 1985, Nadia Kerecuk, also from Brazil, translated 13 Ukrainian fairy tales into Portuguese for her Master’s Degree at the Federal University in Curitiba. These books, with Ukrainian illustrations were published and are mandatory reading for students in public schools in Brazil. Prior to that, Nadia, an English language in structor at Curitiba University, encouraged and taught the Ukrainian language without compensation. With other educators, she was a pivotal force in having the Ukrainian language accredited at that university in the late 80’s. With the help of an anonymous UNWLA spon sor, Nadia completed her doctoral studies at London University in Ukrainian linguistics in 1993. Her peers recognize her as an intellectual among Ukrainian lin guists. Her main objective has been to bring the Ukrain ian language with its rich history into the international arena. This she is accomplishing today. In 1995 the Ukrainian community in Brazil will cele brate its 100 years of settlement in Brazil. Indeed, Ukrainian-Brazilians should be proud of their greatest achievement — the preservation of the Ukrainian langua ge. Not only has the Ukrainian language survived in Brazil but it is also flourishing. The UNWLA Scholarship Program has always been concerned about preserving the language of our fo refathers. For 27 years, one, if not the most important prerequisite of a scholarship recipient is knowing and /or learning the Ukrainian language. Students are required to correspond with their sponsors and with us in Ukrainian. The responsibility also fell on the teachers, rectors, and directors who recommended them for sti pends in their respective countries. This prerequisite holds fast today and is applicable to all stipendiaries, including those in Ukraine. In Poland, scholarships were awarded to Ukrainian students in Bilyj Bir and Lignica from the early 70’s, dur ing the communist regime and discrimination of Ukrain ian people in Poland. The granting of scholarships had to be done with great secrecy and care for the main objective was to assist parents and students financially in keeping young people in Ukrainian boarding schools. It was only in 1989 that we were able to openly do so. It is with pride that we may proclaim that the leadership of the Ukrainian communities in Poland consists of nu merous able professionals, many of whom are former UNWLA scholarship alumni. They include Myroslav Sycz at Warsaw University, sponsored by Mrs. Luba Artymy- shyn (Br. 64) and Lidia Stefanowska at Harvard Univer sity, (previously sponsored by Vera Mycio and Natalia Chaplenko) and now sponsored by Mrs. Olena Papiz (Br. 81). Both are, at this time, Ph.D. candidates in Ukrainian studies. "НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 1994 17
Page load link
Go to Top