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126 ХХ Х Конвенція СУА IRYNA RUDYK SOCIAL WELFARE COMMITTEE The achievements of the Social Welfare Committee of the UNWLA over the past three years are best understood in the larger context of the long history of this standing committee. From the very first days of its existence, the UNWLA committed to work to maintain Ukrainian identity and heritage in the United States and to help Ukrainians around the world. Our organization persisted with these commit- ments through the challenging years of political stru ggle for Ukraine’s independence and through the ad- versities of wars and economic crise s. We continue this work today . S ince our XXIX Convention, the UNWLA Welfare Fund distributed $115,045.67 to support educational projects for medical personnel in Ukraine and to purchas e medical equipment and supplies . Apart from myself, i n 2011 - 201 3 the UNWLA Social Welfare Committee included Ivanka Ole- sny c ka (Social Welfare Chair of Branch 76, NJ) and Bohdana Yudina (Social Welfare Chair of the R e- gional C ouncil of Philadelphia). T he Committee was guided by the analy sis of the work by our predeces- sors , our own experience , and the resolutions of the UNWLA Conventions. The Committee continued to provide financial assistance to Ukrainian families, orphans, and needy elderly, and to support senior members of the UNWLA her e in the U nited States . We worked in close cooperation with UNWLA Presi- dent Ma rianna Zajac and Executive Committee members to decide on the distribution of the funds. They also a ssisted with circulars for UNWLA B ranches and articles/press releases for Our Life and Svoboda . The last months of this three - year term were marked by the turmoil in Ukraine. It seemed like the wheel of history turned back, taking us once again to the horrifying era of Stalin and WWII, when Ukraine’s destiny was tried and decided, w hen everything Ukrainian was being destroyed, and its people killed. Everything started as a peaceful movement led by young people, students of Kyiv, who grew up in post - Soviet Ukraine and rejected authoritarian rule under any name or disguise . However, af ter the vio- lent dispersal of that peaceful protest by the police on the nig ht of November 30, 2013, Ukrainians woke up in a different country and the students’ protest s became a rapidly growing Maidan revolution against the corrupt dictatorship of Yanukovych. The world was shocked as it watched the brutality of the state and as the information about the first victims appeared. Everyone saw the p ictures of Mykhailo Havryliuk , who was tortured by the police , and of Yuriy Verbytskyi, 51, seismologist from L ’ viv, who was injured during protests on the Maidan and then kidnapped from the hospital, tortured , an d abandoned in a forest to die the death of a martyr. T he extreme violence and brutality did n ot help the government to supp ress the protests — the Maidan st oo d against the dictatorship because to do otherwise would mean to accept a country that is nothing more than a prison. The Maidan persisted, a nd it won . But the victory came at a very high pric e — the “Heavenly Hundred” paid for it with their lives. Its ranks continue to grow as some of the critically wounded leave this world to meet wit h their brothers in the Heavenly Hundred. Troubles mounted. Putin’s regime cannot accept Ukraine as a free demo cratic state, and it started a military intervention threatening the security of the whole country . D espite the support of the interna- tional community for Ukraine’s democracy , its future is once again in danger because of the northern neighbor . Ukrainian c ommunities around the world were united with Ukraine all this time, an d the UN- WLA found ways to express its support for the Maidan protesters and the people of Ukraine. The Executive Committee was prompt to respond to the Maidan demonstrations and announc ed a campaign of humani tarian aid for the needs of the protesters. Every day we received calls from all over the United States with the same inquiry, “How can I help?” D onations continue to come even today. By mid - Mar ch 2014, the donations for the Maidan H umanitarian Aid Fund reached over $ 1 4 0,000 . My deepest gratitude goes to all the UNWLA members and to our donors who stood with Ukraine through out these trying months . In particular, I would like to mention the generosity of Branch 56 (Florida), Branch 111 (California), Branch 75 (New Jersey) , and the Regional Council of Philadelphia . By February 1, 2014, we were able to sen d $70,000 for the needs of the Maidan protesters. At first, the money was used to pur chase warm clothes, food, and medicine, and to provide shelter for the protesters
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