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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ВЕРЕСЕНЬ 2016 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 13 As UNWLA VP of Public Relations Roksolana Misilo and I prepare for our trip to Ukraine (Au- gust 16–31) to participate in the annual meetings of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations and the Ukrainian World Congress, two umbrella organizations to which the UNWLA belongs, mixed emotions prevail. Ukraine will be celebrating its 25 th anniversary of independence, an event that should be a positive and historical moment in time; however, we are all profoundly aware of the roller coaster of events we have watched over the past 25 years, including the cur- rent continuing conflict and aggression in eastern Ukraine and the general ineffectiveness of any reform efforts in Ukraine as a whole. So we will be “celebrating” Ukraine’s independence on the 24 th of August, but we will also be visiting the wound- ed soldiers and volunteers during this trip. The UNWLA has been led by four pre- sidents since Ukraine’s declaration of indepen- dence in 1991. Maria Savchak, who served as president from 1987 to 1993, had the thrill of be- ing an integral part in representing the diaspora at meetings with Leonid Kravchuk, the first duly elected president of an independent Ukraine. She also attended meetings with President George H. Bush at the White House where she emphasized that the Ukrainian diaspora community in the United States anticipated that the United States would swiftly and formally recognize an inde- pendent Ukraine. During these first years, initial contacts were established between the UNWLA and the renewed Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine and the organization’s President Atena Pashko. “Let us move forward with the spirit of the times and experience and understand the real needs of an independent Ukraine, our homeland and that of our ancestors and meet those needs,” became Anna Krawczuk’s motto and remained so during her two-term (1993–1999) tenure as UN- WLA president. While reacting to the needs of the new Ukraine, she encouraged and developed rela- tionships with Ukrainian government repre- sentatives in the United States; at the same time, our social welfare program evolved in cooperation with the Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine, and the UNWLA’s scholarship program grew as access to students in Ukraine was opened. In 1999, at the triennial convention in Chicago, Iryna Kurowyckyj was elected to serve as UNWLA president. Besides effectively continuing relationships with government representatives during her three terms (1999–2008), Mrs. Kuro- wyckyj also effectively developed and nurtured good relations between the UNWLA and the U.S. National Council of Women (NCW) as well as with the International Council of Women (ICW), raising the visibility of and interest in Ukraine and the UNWLA within these organizations. In 2004, the UNWLA provided financial and moral support to demonstrators during the Orange Rev- olution; we rejoiced at the results of the election that elevated Victor Yushchenko to the presiden- cy. It was during Mrs. Kurowyckyj’s presidency that the UNWLA began working closely with Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine President Lilia Hryhorowych, who was instrumental in as- sisting the UNWLA by delivering funds to and helping establish contacts with social welfare re- cipients. As a member of Ukraine’s parliament, Ms. Hryhorowych also facilitated contacts be- tween the UNWLA and individuals who helped us accomplish our goals. I had the honor of being elected president of the UNWLA in 2008, and during my first term as president, the UNWLA’s relationship with Ukraine continued. So did our relationship with Ukrainian diplomats in the United States. Our by now well-established social welfare and scholar- ship programs continued focusing their efforts on Ukraine, and the immigration of women from Ukraine during the 1990s swelled the ranks of the UNWLA as they joined and became active mem- bers of our organization; this phenomenon has been particularly visible since the explosive events surrounding the Maidan uprising of 2014 and the ensuing war and upheaval. The past two years have been uniquely challenging; the needs in Ukraine are urgent and great. The UNWLA has undertaken outstanding and extensive work to alleviate these needs, from advocating for Ukraine here in the United States to helping the wounded and the families of the fallen in Ukraine. And as we continue our work we also continue to maintain close ties to the Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine, working with the organization’s current president Oreslava Khomyk on cooperative ventures. Her assistance is invaluable, both in facilitating networking and verifying necessary information.
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