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their moral support and compassion. Tears brimmed in their eyes and in ours. Another important area of work undertaken by the UNWLA Social Welfare program has been assistance to the victims of the Chornobyl tragedy. The Chornobyl meltdown changed the entire world and was catastrophic for the people of Ukraine. It claimed thousands of lives, and after a quarter century, Ukraine is still suffering the consequences of that disaster. On April 26, 2011, we will be observing the 25th anniversary of this devastating event. In commemorating this tragic event, the UNWLA Executive Board decided at its meeting on September 12, 2009, to contribute $25,000 from the Mary V. Beck Chornobyl Fund to the production of a documentary film about Chornobyl: Life in the Dead Zone, directed by Irene Zabytko. An English language production, this documentary will be accessible to American and foreign audiences. The project will teach or remind the world about the horror of Chornobyl, so that the catastrophe of April 26 is never forgotten. In addition, Mary Beck’s generosity will be acknowledged in the film credits. In 1996, the Children’s Medical Fund was renamed as the UNWLA Chornobyl Fund, whose aim would be providing financial assistance for the treatment and rehabilitation of the children-victims of Chornobyl. Regrettably, over the past few years, donations to this fund has declined considerably. For this reason, financial support from this fund has been limited to urgent and severe cases, totaling $28,100. We hope, however, that UNWLA members and other contributors who are familiar with the current situation with the medical services in Ukraine will help strengthen this fund. Along with new projects, we continue providing aid for orphans and orphanages and for elderly women (“Babusi”) in Ukraine and elsewhere. Between 2008 and 2010, the UNWLA Social Welfare Fund transmitted $42,533 to assist orphanages and individual orphans as well as Babusi in different regions of Ukraine. Over the same period of time, UNWLA branches sent $103,675.57 to needy people in Ukraine and $2,110 to needy Ukrainians in Brazil. We also spent $380.74 on presents to soldiers serving in Iraq. Having had an opportunity to visit Ukraine and to observe conditions in the orphanages, I am pleased to report that I witnessed considerable improvements. The orphanages now receive financial support from Ukrainian organizations, including Soyuz Ukrainok and Prosvita, as well as from individual sponsors and businesses. Moreover, the directors of these orphanages have developed a close cooperation with international charitable and aid organizations. In 2009-2010 we funded rehabilitative vacations in the Carpathian region for disabled children from the Braty Myloserdia home in Ternopil oblast. Here, I would like to mention with gratitude the American family who, having learned about our organization, has been sending annual donations for rehabilitative treatment of children from the orphanage in Rozdil, Lviv oblast. This home shelters children with cerebral paralysis, Down syndrome, and other illnesses of the nervous system. In 1999, the UNWLA Executive Committee initiated the Milk and Roll Fund to provide breakfast for preschool children in Ukraine. This project reached out to the schools in Kharkiv, Yalta, Luhansk, and Lviv. This fund, however, was discontinued by the UNWLA in 2009, when the government of Ukraine adopted the decision to provide free breakfasts for elementary school children. The economic crisis that hit the entire global community has had negative consequences for Ukraine as well, adding to longstanding economic difficulties. The least protected segment of the population—elderly people—found themselves in a difficult situation and are now more often compelled to move into nursing or geriatric homes. Visiting Ukraine in April and May of 2009,1 had the opportunity to visit old-age homes centers in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the village of Petryky in Ternopil oblast, and in Chernivtsi. Because all homes for the elderly receive their funding from the state budget, there is a shortage of the most basic personal hygiene items, clothing, and food. Given this situation, the UNWLA Executive Committee launched a new program in 2009. This program, entitled Assistance and Caring for the Elderly, aims to provide articles of daily necessity for such homes and, whenever possible, to establish and maintain cor respondence with the elderly who receive our assistance. Considerable efforts were put into developing this program, issuing related circulars, and making initial contacts with directors of individual homes. I would like to thank UNWLA President Marianna Zajac, Vice President Ulana Zinych, and volunteer Iryna Koshulap for their help and cooperation in these efforts. Working together with the regional presidents of Soyuz Ukrainok of Ukraine and following their XXIXКонвенція СУА 119 www.unwla.org
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