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Welcome delegates, friends and all participants of the XXVI Convention of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. I am pleased and proud to see how many of us have gathered together for this important event, which we have chosen to dedicate to the 75th anniversary of our organization. Recently, one of our members, Marta Tarnawska, wrote an unpublished hymn of the UNWLA celebrating the UNWLA and the women who work to make it what it is - a strong, vital, and important organization that has great purpose and great potential. I was especially moved by two lines from her writings, which I wish to share with you today: ...in unity lies our strength, and the power to achive our goals. These words represent the spirit of the UNWLA and are a fitting theme for this, our 26,h convention. They are very appropriate for our organization at this time, because only through unity can we build a future that is truly meaningful. Only through unity will we have the strength to aim for goals that will truly help Ukrainians in our Diaspora communities and Ukrainians in Ukraine. History repeats itself and so do needs and problems. In the 1950s, after enduring and surviving the storms of the Second World War, many Ukrainians came to live in the USA, believing that they would return to their homeland once the storms had passed. While they waited for this to happen, the women of this wave of immigrants did not remain idle. They taught their children the culture, traditions, and language of Ukraine, and they joined the UNWLA because they believed that women united could accomplish more than women divided and solitary. They were bound together by common roots and common needs and common problems, and together, as the dream of a quick return to a beloved homeland faded, they found strength and courage to help each other and make their lives in their new homeland better. Today, new emigres from Ukraine are settling in our country. Many of them also have the desire to return to their homeland as soon as the economic situation in Ukraine improves. As history has taught us, political and economic changes rarely happen as quickly as we anticipate, and life circumstances are often changed in ways we can never anticipate. The historical reality is that many of these new immigrants will remain in America too. Among them are women who have needs and problems that are not so different from those experienced by Ukrainian women of previous generations. And as we have all learned, these problems and needs are more easily dealt with if one is not alone. We have been there and we have done that and now, it is up to us to invite them to join the UNWLA and become part of this great organization that has so much to offer for so many. Today it is our duty to continue the work and to build on what our foremothers handed down to us, an organization that through the years has become the largest Ukrainian American women’s organization in this country, has high standards and lofty ideals, and is highly respected by all. For that we must thank to each and every one of our members. Ten years have passed since Ukraine became independent. Many of us are fortunate to have lived to witness this monumental historic event; few of us have returned to Ukraine to live. Instead, we have embraced a new challenge, helping independent Ukraine with new or expanded UNWLA programs. We also work on many other programs that touch the lives of those in need. Not one of us can do all of this alone. But all of us together are a very important reservoir of experience, expertise and wisdom, which collectively can do all this and more. United, we have the ability and the potential to set and achieve new and exciting goals that will be a fitting legacy to generations of UNWLA members to come. So help us God! Iryna Kurowyckyj, UNWLA President 26 XXVI Конвенція СУА www.unwla.org
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