UNWLA coordinates actions to help Zakarpattia flood victims

NEW YORK - The Ukrainian National Women's League of America's Social Welfare Committee, chaired by Lidia Czernyk, sprang into action as soon as the news of severe flooding in Carpathian Ukraine reached the United States on November 5, 1998. Contact was made immediately with Atena Pashko, president of Soyuz Ukrainok (Associated of Ukrainian Women) in Ukraine, and with Dr. Oksana Hanych, president of the Soyuz Ukrainok branch in Uzhhorod.

Upon learning of the dire need for medicine for the flood victims, $5,000 from the UNWLA Welfare Fund was sent on November 7, 1998. In letters sent to the UNWLA membership, an appeal was made for collecting children's clothing and household items for shipment to Uzhhorod through Meest Inc. The first container was scheduled to arrive in Uzhhorod on January 11, with a second one to follow shortly.

The UNWLA expressed thanks to the consul general of Ukraine in New York, Yuriy Bohaievskiy, for assistance with arranging the shipments.

The UNWLA headquarters also thanked all its regional councils, branches and members and all those who supported the UNWLA's appeal, in particular the Self Reliance Federal Credit Union of New York City for its immediate donation of $5,000 to pay for the shipment of the first container.

The latest news from Uzhhorod is horrifying: mud slides, lost villages and evacuation of people from affected regions. The full damage will not be known until the spring, when all the snow has melted. The UNWLA headquarters emphasized that relief efforts must be continued, and its committees continue to appeal for tax-deductible donations to help the flood victims in Transcarpathian Ukraine.

Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to: UNWLA Inc. Welfare Fund, 108 Second Ave., New York, NY 10003; Att'n: Lidia Czernyk, UNWLA Social Welfare Chair.

The Ukrainian National Women's League of America Inc. is a non-profit tax-exempt organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3) - GIN 1874. (The UNWLA's e-mail address is: unwla@worldnet.att.net.)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 31, 1999, No. 5, Vol. LXVII

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