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2 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 2018 A Visit to Ukraine by Oka Hrycak I recently had the great pleasure of vi siting Ukraine in my position of Social Welfare Chair at UNWLA. Prior to my trip, I had made plans with some of the organizations we support and left time in my schedule to acquaint myself with others. Day 1 . I arrived in Kyiv on September 28. What better way to start my adventures than to meet Marta Kolomyets, director of the Fulbright Program in Ukraine, for dinner. Amongst my circle of friends, Marta is the informal ambassador and greeter. She and I had a delightful meal at a Mediterranean Restaur ant. We chatted about our activities, mutual friends, and after hearing that I would be in Zhytomyr, Marta shared info about the Radowell Biotechnological Lyceum, a progressive school that was recently built and opened in Zhytomyr. Day 2 . The next morning, I met with Lesia Zab - runna and Hanna Kovalenko. Hanna arrived early and shared her story as a ‘sotnyk’, a rank in the Ukrainian army. She had started as a theatrical critic but when the War of Dignity began, she joined the Maidan effort, doing everything pos - sib le to assist the protestors. She is now a consultant to the safety and defense sector in Ukraine. I asked her, “Isn’t your current position far from your initial career in theat er ?” With a smile, she replied, “Security and defense are all about thea t er .” We were joined shortly by Lesia, who has also had a multi - faceted career. She is currently a professor of Economics and Management at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences in Zhytomyr and has taken on a leader ship role in our S eeds of Hope Ukraine project, introduced by Congresswoman Marci Kaptur. Lesia shared that she is in touch with communities in Dnipro and Lviv. She has recognized that leadership by women in villages is the central theme of the projects and that their key t o succe ssful endeavors is listening to the needs and interests of the women and shaping training to meet their goals. For example, some groups may be interested in growing berries and producing berry products; others may be interested in lettuce or flower s. Once successful harvests are achieved, cooperative markets will evolve and economy will improve. By chance, my cousin Ruta Ripecky and her husband Dr. Andrew Ripecky were in Kyiv. During lunch at Tres Francais they invited me to join them in the evenin g and m eet Dr. Vsevolod Stebl i u k and his wife Katerina for dinner. Dr. Stebluik, an anesthesiologist turned psychiatrist, has been credited with rescuing over 90 soldiers at the battle in Ilovaisk. He and his wife, a psy - chologist, are now involved in trea ting so ldiers dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and their families. Treatment may include therapeutic consultations, family counseling, art therapy, workshops, and rehabilitative camp experiences. Conversation was lively as we shared a meal at Pi zza Vet erano, a restaurant owned and managed by war veterans. The pizza was delicious. Day 3 . The next day, I ventured into Zhytomyr. The tw o hour bus ride cost 100 hryvni, appro - ximately $3.50. We passed many small villages with weathered homes. Churches were spread through out, as were a variety of shops and other busi nesses. Trees glimmered with gold as the tran - sition into autumn had begu n. I enjoyed the ride and was greeted at the bus stop in Zhytomyr by Olena Vlasenko, branch head of Soyuz Ukra inok of Ukraine (SUU), and her husband. I was interested in stopping here because several SUU branches support families touched by war. The whirl wind be gan. Two soyuziank y joined Olena and me, and we walked through the town center, observing food vendors, games, a puppetry exhibit, and other activities for children. We stopped at a traditional restaurant, and I tasted delicious va re nyky with po tato, mushroom, and shkvarky. The women told stories, one of which I found especially touching. A friend of th e branch had been diagnosed with a gynecological cancer and was to undergo chemo. There were enough funds for the first round but not for further treatment. Olena also shared that her 17 year old son was in the hospital with pneumonia. Again, I was touched that despite Olena’s need to be with her son, she was taking time to show me her town and introduce me to her branch members. The rest of the day, we wandered to look at churches; we also saw the music school and the elaborate monuments to those who had died in the Eastern War. Later in the afternoon, Olena’s husband and younger son Na zar stopped by to take us to some points further from town. We walked through a beautiful park and observed the view from a bridge, then went to the army hospital where the UNWLA had donated laboratory equipment. The evening ended with a delightful visit t o the Basilian Monastery where Sister Margaret asked for a microphone for youth events. Day 4 . As an educa tional psychologist, I am very interested in new reforms connected to education of children with special needs. In 2015, Dr. Po - roshenko had announce d that great efforts would
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