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12 WWW. UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 2014 Oksana Denesyuk From the Ukrainian Women’s League in Ukraine to the UNWLA: An Interview with Oksana Denesyuk by Yulia Zimmerman, Branch 107 It was a great pleasure and surprise to meet a young Ukrainian woman, Oksana Denesyuk, at our annual UNWLA picnic, organized by San Jose Branch 107 and its President, Nora Mason. This year I took the initi a- tive to advertise the event via Facebook on the MaydanSF page, which con- nects Ukrainians of the Bay Area. The results were beyond expectations. We had the highest attendance yet, and among the first-time attendees wa s Oksana, who is originally from Vinnytsya, Ukraine. While living in Ukraine years ago, Oksana was actually a recipient of a UNWLA scholarship, and talking to her revealed how vital that assistance was to her and her family. As someone with connection both to the Ukrainian Women’s League in Ukraine and the UNWLA, Oksana Denesyuk is living proof of the positive influence which these two sister organizations can have on the lives of young Ukrainians. Oksano, it was nice meeting you at our a n- nual UNWLA picnic in San Jose. Did you find out about this event through Fac e- book? Yes, and I was really surprised because I used to be a member of the Ukrainian Women’s League back in Ukraine . Since I moved to the United States, however, I have been somewhat separated from U krainian cultural surroundings and missed having an active Ukrainian cultural life. Unfortunately, t here are not many Ukrain ian organizations in this area, so I was pleasantly su r- prised to see the UNWLA picnic advertised on Fa cebook. I was especially intrigued because in the past, I had been a recipient of a scholarship from the UNWLA, so I already felt a close conne c- tion to this organization. It was wonderful to di s- cover that there were active UNWLA branches in California and to see so many people co me to this picnic. What would you say are the best way s to establish a connection to the younger ge n- eratio ns of Ukrainian women in the US? Would you say that the Internet, and the social media in particular, can be effe c- tive in reaching this goal? Yes, absolutely. I think that many young people of Ukrainian background are interested in getting together with other Ukrainians and are actually looking for Ukrainian cultural events . Social media are probably the best way to reach a younger audience like this . What a coincidence that you were a recip i- ent of a scholarship from the UNWLA! Could you talk a l ittle about how this came about for you and what this scholarship has enabled you to accomplish? The time when I was receiving the UNWLA scholarship was a really tough one for my family . My mother and father divorced when I was a child . My mother h ad two children and it was hard for her to provide a decent education for both of us , but she really wante d to do it. I fou nd out about the scholarship through my local Ukrainian Women’s League branch in Vinnytsya. The President of our branch, Oksana Poyda, was a wonderful woman. She taught at Vinnytsya State Pedagogical University, and when ever she organi zed events with her branch, she would invite girls from the university to a t- tend. We always had a great time. Through her I lea rned more about the UNWLA , and she gave me an application for the UNWLA scholarship. It may not seem like a large sum of mo n- ey — one hundred to two hundred dollars — but it really made a big difference for us, especially in the middle of the economic crisis in Ukraine about fifteen years ag o. With the money, I was able to b uy books and everything else needed to attend my classes. The money went a long way, especially back then, so receiving this scholarship was extremely helpful. To this day, I am so very grateful to my sponsor, pani Oksana Saldyt, member of UNWLA Branch 49 of Amherst, NY. As far as you could tell, what was the reput a- tion of Soyuz Ukrainok in Ukraine back then? It sounds like the organization was
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