In its commitment to transparency and accountability, the UNWLA releases its preliminary report for the period of January – June 2023.
ADVOCATE
The UNWLA Advocacy committee has grown from 10 to at least 40 members, who regularly take part in advocacy meetings and enact our initiatives. And while political advocacy is important, we are also training our members to be advocates in many realms, like education and culture.
February 2023
- UNWLA joined with Ukrainian World Congress in the “365 Days of Resilience” campaign. We gave members the tools they needed to organize events to commemorate the 1 year mark of the war – Members from California to Florida to New Jersey succeeded in getting proclamations from their local leaders.
- UNWLA Advocacy partnered with SUSTA (Ukrainian American student umbrella organization) and Ukraine Global Scholars to give the students the tools they need to advocate for Ukraine on campus.
- UNWLA Launches An Advocacy Campaign To Return Ukraine’s Children. Our Advocacy Committee continues its work to support H. Res 149 – Condemning the illegal abduction of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The initiative, called “Return Ukraine’s Children,” aims to find congressional co-sponsors for two bills. UNWLA members reached out to their congresspersons and asked for co-sponsorship.
On Feb 21, a statement from Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) was read at the United Nations event, “Gross Human Rights Violations due to the Aggression Against Ukraine” panel discussion, “Violations of the Right of the Child.” The statement was read by UNWLA Branch 91 member Marta Fedoriw who is Representative Wild’s constituent. Rep. Wild introduced a resolution in Congress condemning Russia’s mass abduction of Ukrainian children and stating that these actions amount to genocide.
For more information, please check out the State Department Briefing and Yale Conflict Lab Report.
5 Strategies to Advocate for Ukraine
March 2023
- Soyuzianky participated in the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) “Ukrainian Days” advocacy program from March 8-9th. This advocacy event was an opportunity to meet congressional officers and to promote our immediate concerns for increased security assistance for Ukraine, more sanctions against russia; designating russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, recognition of the current war and the Holodomor as genocide, recognition the Wagner Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
April 2023
- A community advocacy event on the Hill gathered over 300 participants from 45 states. As one of the co-organizers of the American Coalition for Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America actively organized the second Ukraine Action Summit, which successfully concluded in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2023. A community advocacy of the Hill, the Summit gathered more than 300 participants from more than 45 states in meetings with elected officials in Congress. UNWLA Advocacy Chair, Marianna Tretiak, led the advocacy training for the entire Summit. In all, our collective efforts work led to 41 new co-sponsorships on key bills. Including the 15 new co-sponsors to the H. Res. 149.
The UNWLA is proud to be a part of advocacy efforts in the U.S. and delighted to see many Ukrainian-American and non-Ukrainian organizations working together to advocate for Ukraine. Follow the American Coalition for Ukraine page to stay informed about the latest updates and news regarding the next Summit.
EDUCATE
March 2023
- A delegation of Ukrainian women prisoners of the russian war against Ukraine arrived in the U.S. last month to participate in the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (March 6-17, 2023). WFUWO (World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations) and the New Jersey Regional Council invited them to speak at the panel discussion at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany, NJ, on March 5.
April 2023
- 4 Ways To Advocate for Ukraine With Your Local Library. Every year, libraries across the USA participate in library month and National Library Week which usually takes place around the third week of the month. UNWLA Advocacy team developed a Library Book Toolkit which provides the resources for working with a local library to request the purchase of books related to Ukraine, including books in Ukrainian.
Although Ukraine has been in the news, some libraries have yet to partner with Ukrainian communities. UNWLA members are a valuable resource to them in initiating these partnerships. Your local library is the perfect platform to share information about Ukraine’s contributions to the world of literature, science, and art and to promote cultural exchanges between Ukraine and your community. Organizing events and exhibits featuring Ukrainian authors, artists, and scholars can help foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Ukraine’s heritage and contemporary society.
May 2023
- russia’s War on Ukraine and Higher Education. On May 21, a panel discussion session took place at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany NJ, featuring Professor Olena Muradyan, the esteemed Dean of Sociology, Karazin University, Kharkiv, Ukraine. The discussion revolved around the profound effects of the ongoing war on daily life in Ukraine, with a specific focus on the university’s efforts to maintain a high standard of education for its 16,000 enrolled students. Notably, the war has significantly impacted the enrollment of foreign students, who traditionally constituted a third of the university’s student body.
During the session, Professor Muradyan also shed light on the university’s commendable humanitarian aid initiatives, including the provision of housing for internally displaced Ukrainians. The UNWLA received heartfelt gratitude from Professor Muradyan for their ongoing support.
- UNWLA supported a project titled “Two Regimes”. Over 100 paintings and a memoir recounting the Holodomor and Holocaust’s harrowing experiences faced a near destruction. These works chronicle the life of Teodora Verbitska from 1920 to 1945, as she navigated the brutal regimes of Stalin and Hitler. Her daughter, Nadia Werbitzky, a trained artist, painted from memory their shared ordeals. Witnessing both the Holodomor and the Holocaust in Ukraine, their story hung by a thread until rescued by American women Mimi Shaw and Kelly Bowen. Now, these artifacts have evolved into a valuable educational resource, exhibited prominently in Tallahassee and set to travel across the US. Financial support from UNWLA ensures this manuscript’s publication, demonstrating the UNWLA’s unwavering commitment to Holodomor education, especially in this 90th year of remembrance.
CULTIVATE
January 2023
- Kovaliv Literary Award Winners Announced. In the first days of the new 2023, the judges of the Lesia and Petro Kovaliv Foundation Literary Award announced the winners for 2022. Held annually under the patronage of the UNWLA, this contest distinguishes the best books in the categories of poetry, prose, and essay. The winners were Iryna Vikyrchak for her collection of poems Algometry (2021), Oleh Kotsarev for his collection of poetry The Contents of a Man’s Pocket (2021), and Halyna Kruk for her book of short stories Anyone But Me (2021).
March 2023
- “Pysanky of Hope” NFTs Launched. UNWLA invited the world to invest in peace and support Ukraine by purchasing unique digital collectibles. “Pysanky of Hope” series by artist Anthony Fatato features three pysanky based on the original artwork of renowned ethnographer, pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg) artist, and Fulbright Scholar Sofika Zielyk. The sale aims to raise funds for Ukrainian humanitarian aid initiatives, increase awareness of Ukraine’s current needs, and provide hope for Ukrainians suffering the consequences of Russia’s brutal aggression.
May 2023
- Tetyana Filevska, the creative director of the Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv, took the lead on May 17 in a session titled “Decolonization of Ukrainian Culture: Who, When, How.” She is a prominent figure in Ukraine’s decolonization movement, dedicated to fortifying Ukraine’s position both globally and within its borders. During the session, Ms. Filevska imparted practical approaches to engaging with cultural institutions, tapping into available academic resources on culture via databases, and a wide array of insightful recommendations and strategies aimed at empowering this essential decolonization effort.
- UNWLA Supports The Staging Of “Hunger” In NYC – A Bilingual Play About Holodomor. Ukrainian American poet and playwright, Bohdan Boychuk, wrote a play titled “Hunger”, adapted into a bilingual performance by theatre director Emma Denson. In October of 2022, she assembled a creative team to perform a reading for the first time in the Origin First Irish Festival in NYC. After performing in other venues, such as the Mississippi State University, Ms. Denson received funding from the New York Ukrainian museum to stage another reading there in May of 2023 and to use its facilities for rehearsals. UNWLA contributed financially to further the creative efforts of Ms. Denson’s plans of creating a full-length play of “Hunger.”
June 2023
- The Ukrainian American Artists Directory. One of the recent art projects of the UNWLA is sponsoring an online Ukrainian-American Artists Directory. The Directory provides a platform where professional and amateurs artists can promote their creative activities in a wide range of categories from fine art to folk arts and crafts.
On the Directory webpage, the art appreciators can search by art category in both English and Ukrainian languages, by artist’s name, and see contact information, website, links to social media, and their location.
CARE
$84,500 – Wound Vacuum Treatment Devices
UNWLA was among the first organizations to recognize that an adequate supply of wound vacuum treatment devices would be a first-line request from Ukrainian hospitals. They speed up the healing of injuries and prevent infection, and UNWLA spearheads the constant supply of parts to seven hospitals nationwide.
$50,000 – Medicine (In Partnership With AICM)
UNWLA’s aid helped cover costs associated with delivery of five tons of medicines to six leading hospitals in the Chernihiv region.
$50,000 – Repair And Re-Equipment Of Ukrainian Hospitals (In Partnership With AICM)
$43,400 – Albumin For The Mechnikov Hospital In Dnipro
Serving those closest to the front lines of Ukraine’s battle against russian invaders, Mechnikov Hospital sees hundred of critically wounded every day. Stabilizing patients with acute blood loss requires albumin, a replacement for whole blood plasma.
$25,000 – Humanitarian Aid In Response to The Kakhovka Dam Disaster (In Partnership With AICM)
The teract at the Kakhovka Dam left people needing water pumps, water purification tablets, food parcels, and hygiene kits. In cooperation with AICM, UNWLA also delivered several generators for hospitals, shelters, and critical facilities.
$13,631 – Humanitarian Aid In Response to The Kakhovka Dam Disaster
UNWLA care packages were delivered to survivors of the russian teract. They contained first aid kits, stretchers, auto parts, hygiene products, water canisters, water filters, purifying tablets, OTC painkillers, folding beds, bedding sets, tarpaulin, kerosene cylinders, and kerosene stoves.
$31,000 – Portable Bathhouse And Laundromat
Under combat conditions, Ukrainian defenders need the means for basic comfort and sanitation, and we were honored to help.
$25,000 – The Pediatric Burn Mission (in partnership with DCTHC)
The medical mission “Doctors Collaborating to Help Children” (DCTHC) offers specialized medical treatment to Ukrainian children suffering from life-threatening burn injuries: surgeries, wound care, and rehabilitation. Led by Dr. Fuzaylov and his team of international experts, the mission treated 19 children in Poland this year.
$19,276 – Summer Camps for Children (in partnership with St. Peter and Paul Garrison Church)
One hundred eighty children received support and healing opportunities offered by St. Peter and Paul Garrison Church in Ukraine. Among them – children of Ukrainian defenders who perished in the line of duty.
$14,000 – Easter Gifts For 500 Elderly Women in Ukraine
The UNWLA “Babusi” (Grandmothers) Fund is established to support over 500 elderly women across Ukraine with small cash gifts. Operated in conjunction with the Soyuz Ukrainok in Ukraine, this initiative aims to offer relief to women survivors of Soviet political repressions.
$10,000 – Replacement Parts For A Blood Analyzer
The analyzer, the costs of which were underwritten by the UNWLA, was delivered to Zhytomyr and needed some service parts to continue aiding doctors to treat trauma patients.
$10,000 – Hot Meals, Care Packages, And Shelter (in partnership with NGO Way To Life)
Serving hundreds of displaced persons who have made their way to this Ukrainian city in the northwestern corner of Ukraine, this program provides hot meals, bread, meal packets, and temporary shelter for those who have found themselves without a permanent home.
