BABUSI FUND
The Babusi Fund by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) has provided essential support to elderly women in Ukraine for nearly sixty years. Established to help women who face financial hardship due to low pensions and limited social support, the Babusi Fund offers stipends to alleviate some of the financial strain on Ukraine’s elderly women. This initiative aligns with the UNWLA’s broader mission to aid vulnerable communities in Ukraine, especially as economic hardships are exacerbated by the ongoing conflict and economic disruptions.
The UNWLA recognized early on that many elderly women, especially widows or those without close family, face significant financial insecurity. The Babusi program addresses this gap by providing modest yet meaningful financial aid to ensure that beneficiaries can afford basic necessities. This support has become even more critical with the war’s impact on Ukraine’s economy and social services. Elderly recipients use the stipends for essentials like food, medications, and utilities—expenditures that are difficult to cover with Ukraine’s pension payments, which are often insufficient for sustaining a stable quality of life.
In spring 2024, 90 women from twenty-two regions of Ukraine received financial assistance. Among them are those who need it urgently: residents of settlements located in the zone of active hostilities, who were under constant shelling, even “at the point of a rashist machine gun” (as written in one from letters of thanks), and relocated to other regions of Ukraine. Extremely warm and touching letters of gratitude were received from the beneficiaries.
