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Our Life | Наше життя June | Червень 2021 5 Marianna Zajac REFLECTIONS FROM THE UNWLA PRESIDENT As I write my final Our Life column as President of the UNWLA, I am filled with pride and immense gratitude, but feel a solid dose of melancholy as well. Soon after my mother passed in September 2009, my husband, children, and I, while cleaning out her home, opened the drawers of her antique desk. In one drawer was a folder clearly labeled “Marianna & SUA,” filled with neatly stacked and labeled Our Life columns and newspaper articles written by me or about the UNWLA. I was deeply touched that my mother, also a dedicated Soyuzianka, was proud that her daughter chose to continue the legacy of the UNWLA. Now, my four-year-old granddaughter Chrystyna waits for Our Life to be delivered to her home and then promptly embarks on a search for Babtsia’s photo. “Look, here’s Babtsia!” are her happy words. My hope is that someday she, too, will be willing to continue the important work of the UNWLA. While any ending can be viewed as a loss, I do not feel this ending is one, and I am honored to pass on this important position to what I know will be capable hands. Yet I do end my 13-year term with a truly sad loss – hence the dose of melancholy – that of another dedicated fan and supporter of the UNWLA, and of mine, my dear husband of almost 50 years, Myron, who recently passed. Immediately after my election as President in 2008, he became my advisor, consultant, UNWLA historian, sometimes critic, but always a supporter. In my mind’s eye, I can see his “thumbs-up” and gentle smile after one of the numerous speeches I wrote and gave, hear his voice in my ear offering sound advice. Myron truly was a proud “Soyuzianka”! Thank you, Mamo, Chrystyno, and Myrone! Along with me, you shared one of the most rewarding of life’s paths that I had chosen! When I began this column 13 years ago, my goal was to chronicle and summarize the goals, projects, and accomplishments of our organization. I was unsettled by the thought that our efforts were so broad and varied that some might slip through the cracks of awareness. Writing fully about all our efforts in Our Life was not possible, yet without mention somewhere, I genuinely worried that our members, friends, supporters, and community might not realize fully the selfless, often grand efforts of our membership, of our leadership. Since 2008, the life of the UNWLA has been, at the direction of our leadership, rich, varied, yet focused, rewarding even if, at times, the circumstances were heartbreaking, and ambitious yet humbling. Our projects and outreach have been shaped by events in Ukraine and in the United States – my 13-year term is almost equal to half of Ukraine’s 30 fast-paced, at times turbulent years of independence, and for half my term, Ukraine has been the victim of a cruel war instigated by Russia. Our dynamic organization has supported students who demonstrated on the Maidan, and has also offered students academic scholarships and developed innovative programs at universities. We have provided aid to young orphans, as well as to the needy elderly. Soldiers wounded and disabled by the war have received our aid, and hospitals have received much-needed equipment. The UNWLA has collaborated with numerous Ukrainian and American organizations to help build our community, to support victims of natural disasters, to ease the burden of those suffering the consequences of the Covid pandemic. Along with very practical, material support, the UNWLA has focused on supporting programs in Ukraine that provide for spiritual growth. Behind this impressive and continuing list of achievements are the genuinely thousands of collective hours and hundreds of thousands of collective dollars generously provided, with love and dedication, by our members and friends. I was extremely proud to represent the UNWLA in many countries, at many conferences, and at many meetings with political and community leaders, as well as with Church dignitaries. The UNWLA continues to etch a place not only in the history of the Ukrainian diaspora, but now, fortunately, in Ukraine. We have done so with respect for each other, always grateful for one another’s talents and strengths. Every UNWLA President comes into office with her own priorities and vision, and the opportunities and challenges of history vary. I can only hope that during my tenure my priorities successfully met the challenges of history. I thank you for choosing me to be your President for four terms, for enriching my life, and I hope that, through my role as President of the UNWLA, I have, in some small way, enriched yours. The UNWLA and our members will forever be in my prayers. Slava Ukraini!
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