3. Summer Camps for Needy
Children Held in Ukraine
As in years past, the Kyiv Office of UUARC
organized summer camps for orphans and needy
children of Ukraine. This year the Executive
Board of UUARC designated $8,000 for this
project. The Lviv Office received $6,000 for a
similar program. With donations to SUM and Plast
youth camps in Ukraine, in total UUARC spent
$19,000 on youth camps in Ukraine.
Two 18-day camps were organized by the Kyiv
office, one in Tatarbunar in Odessa oblast, and
in Ochakiv on the Black Sea in the Mykolayiv
oblast. Ninety orphans and needy children, 9-15
years old, from Luhansk region were invited to
these camps. Some of these children had
horrendous backgrounds - there were stories of
children being found abandoned and living in dog
houses, before being adopted by families in the
Luhansk region. Others had compromised immune
systems and pneumonia. The curative effects of
the sea air should help them to stay healthy
throughout the year.
The camps not only provided the children with
rest and relaxation, which included swimming and
other sports, but the counselors conducted
Shevchenko poetry recitation contests and
Ukrainian history competitions. The children and
their counselors have sent heartfelt thank you
letters to UUARC for the wonderful experience.
This, as all of our programs, can only be
offered to these children thanks to the
generosity of the Ukrainian-American community's
contributions to the UUARC General Fund.
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4. Adopt-a-Grandparent
Program Aids Elderly
UUARC's Adopt-a-Grandparent Program is a
successful and extremely gratifying in the
actual, one-on-one feedback that sponsors
receive from their adoptive
"grandparents". The tearful letters of
thanks often come to the UUARC office, but even
more frequent are the letters of gratitude that
sponsors receive directly from their
beneficiaries.
Below are three extremely poor and needy
seniors who need to be "Adopted" by
someone:
- Ivan Mychajliuk, from Dnipropetrovska
oblast, was born in 1924, and imprisoned for
"revolutionary" activities in a
far-northern gulag for many years. He is now
very ill and receives a tiny pension, which
does not nearly cover his expenses.
- Maria Didukh, born in 1926, and
politically active in her younger years, was
sent to Siberia and terrorized as punishment
for her nationalistic efforts. She returned
to her home in Donetsk blind and alone, and
continues to suffer in poverty.
- Stepan Boznyj, born in 1922, lives in
Poltavska oblast and is very ill. He was
also sent to Siberia, and survived the
tortures of the gulag. He lives in poverty
and hopes that someone will help him.
We appeal to the readers to open their hearts
as the Holidays near and cold weather approaches
- please sponsor one of our former activists so
they may live out their lives in some comfort in
a free Ukraine. To them, your $15.00 per month
will make it possible to have medicine or a warm
meal once a day. What a wonderful way to make
such a difference in someone's life!
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5. Board Approves Donation
to Ukrainians in Romania
Ethnic Ukrainians can be found throughout the
world - in countries where the economy is
thriving as well as in countries where the
economic level is very low and where the
populace, especially with foreign roots, lives
in terrible circumstances.
This fall, as in the past, we received a
letter from the Ukrainian Association of Romania
asking for help for the Ukrainian poor and
orphaned children of Romania who cannot attend
school for lack of shoes and clothing. These
children are found throughout Romania - 987 in
Maramorshchyna, 512 in Bukovyna, 330 in the Satu
Mo region, 542 in Arada county, 216 in Tymish,
356 in Karash-Severin and 421 in Dobrudzhu, at
the source of the Danube.
The Ukrainian Association of Romania writes
that UUARC is the only Ukrainian organization
that helps these children, and that UUARC's
generosity and kindness is blessed in the hearts
of the ethnic Ukrainian population of Romania,
which receives this help each year. The Romanian
economy is experiencing extraordinary inflation,
and unemployment is reaching new heights, so
"UUARC is their only saving grace".
At September's monthly meeting, the Executive
Board approved a donation of $5,000.00, it was
immediately forwarded to Romania, and as funds
become available, more will be designated.
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6. Vehicle Donations
Accepted
UUARC, Inc. is now able to accept donated
vehicles from the Philadelphia metropolitan area
as contributions. They will be sold at auction,
and the proceeds will benefit all of the great
UUARC programs you have read about. The car,
truck, van or motorcycle does not have to be in
good condition nor does it have to run - we will
arrange for someone to pick up the vehicle, and
we will issue a receipt for fair market value.
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7. Our Generous Friend
Bohdan Kurylko, our generous friend who has,
for years worked with the Lviv office, this year
has funded five scholarships for students,
signed a contract for 200 pairs of shoes for
orphans, and has provided funding for 75 food
baskets for shut-ins and the needy senior
citizens in Lviv. He has also provided financial
assistance to several needy families in the Lviv
area.
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