Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
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
“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 2016 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 5 Thoughts on My First Trip to Ukraine by Roksolana Misilo, UNWLA 4 th VP My first trip to Ukraine was technically a UNWLA business trip. Perhaps not a typical first visit to the country where your ancestors came from, but a great trip just the same, thanks to a perfect trav- el partner (UNWLA President Marianna Zajac) and to the people I met along the way. Getting there was the easy part. The UN- WLA paid for my flight and registration for the WFUWO (World Federation of Ukrainian Wom- en’s Organizations) and WCU (World Congress of Ukrainians) conferences; I was responsible for the rest: hotels, food, and transportation. An enor- mous plus was that we had an outstandingly re- spected Member of Ukrainian Parliament’s 7 th Session on our team. He opened doors all over the place and made our travel and entry much easier. We did not have to deal with the logistics, we just went. One of the things I discovered during this trip is that Ukraine is a country of contradictions. Another is that I came there with some miscon- ceptions. The third is that the people of Ukraine are amazingly resilient. As we traveled from place to place, the people we encountered were mostly genuine, sincere patriots, passionate for a free and prosperous Ukraine. The common thread in the small villages and larger cities was the nation- alism and hospitality. I was taken aback on the condition of the common spaces in the few apar- tment complexes in the cities that I visited. On the other hand the apartments were surprisingly fine once you came inside. I was told this is the norm. My absolute favorite city was Lviv, an old European city full of charm, cobblestones, old ar- chitecture, cafes, tourists, and lots of young peo- ple. The atmosphere is amazing; I want to go back just to stroll leisurely through the streets and sightsee. One of the coolest features of the city (at least for me) was seeing signs in Ukrainian. Street signs, store signs, ads. They never stopped catch- ing me off guard and making me smile. If you have money, you can buy just about anything, and everything is available, from luxury hotels to Tif- fany to Range Rovers to Bosch appliances to hair blow-outs to every food. Family : I was grateful to have the second day of my trip off to meet my father’s family, a very touching experience. The most remarkable thing was seeing that most of the relatives were finan- cially comfortable. The young people were college educated, holding down jobs in their professions. Their houses were lovely with modern amenities that included high end appliances. The day was a whirlwind, but having met the family, I now have a personal connection and want to continue it. Volunteers : I am in awe of the volunteer move- ment in Ukraine. Hospitals serving our wounded soldiers have volunteer stations set up to help them. The volunteers are ordinary people working regular jobs and coming on their own time to make the wounded soldier’s stay better: emotion- ally, financially, and physically. The volunteers chat with them, provide them with basics not supplied by the hospitals (e.g., slippers, shorts, t- shirts, cigarettes, as well as home-grown and cooked food to supplement bland hospital meals). Train depots have volunteer areas where travel- ling soldiers can rest, wait for their trains, and unwind before returning to the front. We visited the volunteer home in Zaporizhia. Called the Soldatskyj Pryval, the volunteer home, which opened in November 2014, is a beautiful restored building located across the street from the train depot. It has bedrooms with comfortable bunk beds to sleep in, a huge kitchen with fresh food always cooking, a freezer, showers, a washing ma- chine, a courtyard for relaxing, a TV room, a staff psychologist and lots of volunteers—it is a real home away from home for the soldiers. At the time of my visit, 3,280 soldiers had already passed through it. Visiting the young soldiers in various hos- pitals was very moving. Many a hero said he did not need the gift we offered, telling us to give it to someone who needed it more, even though he him- self did not have much. UNWLA President Mari- anna Zajac and I were very touched by а young soldier in Dnipro, who had a shattered foot. He was all alone, planning to return to the front lines as soon as he was able, but he had not told his mother that he was lying wounded in this hospital because he did not want her to worry. As mothers ourselves, Ms. Zajac and I were dismayed by his decision; we tearfully made him promise to contact his mother and tell her the truth and let her come to visit him and help him heal. My most intense moment was seeing a soldier in the Burn Hospital in Dnipro on what looked like makeshift supports with oozing ban-
Page load link
Go to Top
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 
