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Uncategorized Civil Society Community/Education Humanitarian/Medical News

CUF President announces inaugural members of CUF Advisory Council

CUF leadership has recognized that we have individuals in Canada, Ukraine and other parts of the world who can be resources to CUF without formally joining its board. We have had guest members on some of our committees and this continues to this day. To build on our depth of understanding in the various areas of our program and project work, the CUF board recently approved the creation of an advisory council, to “provide strategic and other sector specific advice to the President, the Board, the Executive and other Board Committees of CUF on matters and areas of activity undertaken by CUF.” From time to time, we will announce new advisory council members to support CUF priorities.
Today, I am delighted to announce the inaugural members of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation Advisory Council. They are subject matter experts, leaders and influencers in their respective fields, and our board and committees look forward to acquiring guidance and inspiration in their areas of expertise, as well as augmenting our youth engagement and succession planning capabilities.

Education Advisory Council

Sergiy Kvit, an expert and a commentator on educational issues, currently is the Head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance and a professor of Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism. In 2002-07, he was a Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies Faculty at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He founded the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism in 2001 and became a President of the Media Reform Centre, set up to initiate open debate and promote more transparent media and government. In 2005-2011, he was a Chairman of the Consortium of University Autonomy. He has been rector (president) of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from 2007 until 2014. Serhiy Kvit occupied the position of the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine in 2014-2016 when progressive Laws “On Higher Education” (2014) and “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity” (On Science and Research, 2015) were adopted. In 2015, Sergiy Kvit signed an agreement that allowed Ukrainian scientists and businesses to fully participate in Horizon 2020 (H2020), the European Union’s flagship research program. Dr. Kvit’s research focuses on educational and media reforms, mass communications, and philosophical hermeneutics; he has published several books and numerous articles. He has a Ph.D. from the Ukrainian Free University (Germany) and a doctorate in philology. He held Fulbright scholarship at Ohio University and Stanford University, Kennan Institute scholarship at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre in Washington, DC and a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship at the University of Cologne.

Anna Novosad, served as Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine from August 2019 till March 2020. On her position managed to roll out systemic reform of higher education funding and governance, and successfully lobbied for endorsement of the new Law on general secondary education, which allowed to continue the general school reform. Prior to the Ministerial post Anna held different positions at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. At various times she served as a counsellor to the Minister, head of international relations and head of strategic planning and European integration, where she expanded the EU-Ukraine cooperation in science and education and accomplished the Ukraine’s association to the Horizon 2020 program. Anna joined the public service in 2014, after the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity. In 2019 was elected as a member of Ukrainian Parliament. Currently remains in education sector in expert role. Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program 2013 alumni. US State Department Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program fellow 2021-2022. Holds MA degree in Analyzing Europe from the Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and BA degree in Political Science from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine.

Healthcare Advisory Council

Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn is a Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Toronto, with a subspecialty practice in craniomaxillofacial surgery. He earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1980, and completed his surgical residency at the University of Western Ontario in 1985. Following his certification in Plastic Surgery, he pursued an additional 4 years of subspecialty fellowship training in craniofacial surgery including a traveling fellowship in Europe and Mexico City. Dr Antonyshyn began his clinical practice in The Division of Plastic Surgery at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1989, where he established a pediatric and adult craniofacial program. In 1992, he assumed the position of Head, Division of Plastic Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and in 1996, established the Adult Craniofacial Program to address the specific needs of adult patients with post-traumatic and post-ablative craniofacial deformities. Dr. Antonyshyn is an Associate Scientist, Imaging and Trauma Research at Sunnybrook Research Institute. His research focus is in 3D craniofacial computer assisted modeling and design. He is a cofounder and partner in a surgical device startup company called Calavera Surgical Design. Dr Antonyshyn is actively engaged in humanitarian surgery initiatives and global surgery education. April 2014, he travelled to Ukraine as part of a Medical Needs Assessment team to assess the capacity to manage trauma following Maidan. Since then, he has led 6 Canadian surgical missions to Ukraine, to teach and perform reconstructive procedures in both civilian and military war casualties. Feb 2016, he received the Order of Merit from the president of Ukraine, and Nov 2018, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for his efforts. January 2019 Dr Antonyshyn launched the Sunnybrook Ukraine Surgery Education Partnership.

Youth Engagement Advisory Council

Roman Grod is the Past President of SUSK and the Vice President of the World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations. Roman holds a degree in Economics from Wilfred Laurier University and is currently employed as the Lead Analyst, Canadian Markets at Rodan Energy Solutions a leading North American energy management company. Prior to his current role Roman served on the SUSK board of directors for 4 years, as Alumni Director, Treasurer, and for his last two years as President. Roman’s key highlights as president were the launch of SUSK Connect, global education on the current situation in Ukraine, continuing to grow the SUSK endowment, national Holodomor advocacy, creating a space for Ukrainian Students across the country to get involved and much more. In 2021 Roman was nominated as one of the top 30under30, which recognized emerging Ukrainian diaspora youth leaders under 30.

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Holodomor National Awareness Tour News

HOLODOMOR NATIONAL AWARENESS TOUR BUS TRAVEL ACROSS CANADA

Seven years ago, the Holodomor National Awareness Tour took flight in Canada creating awareness about the Holodomor teaching Canadians, young and old, on board its digitally interactive Holodomor Mobile Classroom.  From idea concept, to design, through build, to execution and the development of applications that run our on-board and on-line lessons, we have taken Holodomor awareness to a new level never envisioned before.  Teaching about the past to prevent the reoccurrence of tragic events such as the Holodomor genocide, is what our youth, our future leaders, need to know.  They need to understand that totalitarian regimes such as those of former USSR leader Joseph Stalin do not make for a utopian world, but a world of oppression, discrimination, hatred, and racism that do not have a place is our global society.  HNAT’s goal is just that – to teach about such events in a way that engages students and helps them understand that their voice matters in creating a just and civil society.

Through the course of our travels over the last 6 years we have:

  • travelled across Canada, from Victoria, BC to Sydney, NS and as far north as Slave Lake, AB engaging over 62,770 students and the public about the Holodomor, visiting over 460 Canadian schools, teaching 1,488 individual class lessons.
  • Had 40,032 students and educators take part in one of our 4 lessons including an online lesson for students developed during the COVID pandemic.
  • Attended 260 public events across Canada, engaging over 22,700 visitors with the Tour’s materials on the Holodomor.
  • The HMC and the developers of the interactive lessons, Forge Media + Design have won 3 prestigious awards: Golden A’ Design Award 2017 (Lake Como, Italy), Gold at the DSE (Digital Signage Expo) 2018 APEX Awards (Las Vegas, NV), and Gold at the Indigo Design Award 2018 (the Netherlands).
  • Produced 7 educational videos, and one award-winning documentary film on the Holodomor, which are used in classrooms and on the HMC while at community events.

Our work is not done.  There are many miles left to travel across Canada to ensure that every Canadian knows about the Holodomor genocide and the devastation it caused, not just in 1932-1933, but about the intergenerational trauma that continues today.  Your financial support for our project will ensure that the memory of all the victims of the Holodomor is never forgotten.

Вічная Пам’ять!

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Humanitarian/Medical News Save A Life Ukraine Uncategorized

UKRAINE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE PROGRAM

Located in the epicentre of Europe’s latest COVID-19 surge, Ukraine now ranks third in the world for daily COVID-19 mortality. The country continues to record daily highs of new infections and deaths, resulting in adaptive quarantine measures throughout most of Ukraine. The situation in Ukraine has stressed Ukraine’s medical system to the breaking point, particularly in eastern Ukraine, where hospital congestion is the highest in the country at almost 90%. More than 80,000 deaths and more than 3 million infections have been recorded in Ukraine. Of those patients that were hospitalized with COVID-19, 94.2% were found to be unvaccinated.

Ukraine is dealing with persistent challenges while attempting to implement adaptive quarantine and other public-health measures. Widespread vaccine skepticism, fueled by domestic misinformation and foreign disinformation flowing from malign actors such as the Russian Federation, has created numerous challenges for Ukraine’s Ministry of Health. In addition, the Ukrainian government has had to implement stiff criminal penalties for anyone caught with falsified vaccination certification owing to lucrative black market schemes. With less than 20% of its population fully vaccinated, Ukraine has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Europe.

In response to this crisis, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation has launched the “UKRAINE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE PROGRAM” to raise $125,000 for targeted assistance in Ukraine.

The UKRAINE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE PROGRAM comprises the following three projects:

•      CUF is continuing to support and expand the delivery of oxygen therapy to COVID-19 patients   through our partners in Ukraine. In addition to the original CUF purchase of 20 Oxygen (O2) concentrators and 3 continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, the expansion now includes  the procurement of 17 additional O2 concentrators, 7 CPAP devices, consumable oxygen masks, personal protective equipment, and other operating costs.

•     CUF plans to support pandemic relief of the hospital network in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine, by covering the freight costs of a 40-foot shipping container from Denver, USA, to Dnipro. The container will be stocked with donated ICU beds, oxygen-therapy supplies and other critical medical equipment. 

•      CUF is also planning an expansion of its ongoing COVID-19 pandemic relief to Eastern Ukraine with input from the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Cluster and the United Nations’ Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).  

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation has allocated $25,000 USD from its reserves to start the campaign and encourages the Ukrainian-Canadian and Ukrainian-American communities to contribute to this critical program, thus providing rapid and effective assistance to those in critical condition.

Organizations, corporations and individuals are welcome to support CUF in this effort with financial or relevant material donations. Contributions may be made online at CUF’s donation page  or by contacting the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

Donations are welcome from worldwide sources. At this time we are able to provide charitable tax receipts for Canadian and US donors.

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Civil Society Humanitarian/Medical News

CUF supports humanitarian demining in Ukraine: “Let’s Clean Donbas Together” Project

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) announced on November 5, 2021, its support of a project to demine agricultural lands in Eastern Ukraine to make them available for use by the local citizens. CUF has donated $13,000 USD to support the “Let’s Clean Donbas Together” project mounted by the Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA). The European Union is also contributing 40% of the total project cost towards this critical initiative.

“We at the Canada-Ukraine Foundation understand the great significance that demining of arable lands has for the local civilian population living in demilitarized zones. These lands provide them with the ability to feed their families and sell their surplus harvest for their livelihoods” – said Major (Retired) Oksana Kuzyshyn, CD1, Chief Operating Officer and Chair of the Civil Society Committee at the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. “This project will also help raise the profile of the landmine issue in Ukraine and bring it to broader public attention and the attention of the Ukrainian government for funding”.

The war in Donbas has resulted in large swaths of lands seeded with land mines, thus rendering them useless and dangerous for citizens living in the region. Some 21,000 km2 of land have been so armed; 7,000 km2. in Ukrainian controlled regions and 14,000 km2 currently under Russian Federation proxy control. Although the Ukrainian Armed Forces have demined some areas for their specific purposes, local inhabitants have no safe access to the remaining lands and are left to their own devices, many nonprofessional and dangerous. These lands represent an untapped resource that has added to the region’s economic deprivation and physical hardship.

The Ukrainian Deminers Association (UDA) had approached the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to participate in the very important work of helping to demine land surrounding two villages, thereby releasing the lands for agricultural use. The UDA is a Ukrainian NGO established in 2018 to help reclaim some of these unusable mined lands and raise awareness among the population of the dangers inherent in living in a heavily mined territory. The group proposed to clear some 200,000 m2 of land surrounding the villages of the Mariupol region in the Donetsk Oblast, with a combined population of 21,000. This pilot project will raise awareness of the local population regarding land mines and will give them access to cultivate and harvest these otherwise unusable lands.

“The ‘Let’s Clean Donbas Together’ project is about human life and socio-economic revival of a region in Eastern Ukraine. It’s also about Ukrainian deminers. Moreover, this project brings the attention of the public and the world community to the current problem of Ukrainians. We truly thank the Canadian-Ukrainian Foundation for its vital support” – said Tymur Pistriuha, Executive Director and Head of the Ukrainian Deminers Association.

CUF will continue to raise funds for the “Let’s Clean Donbas Together” project. Organizations, corporations, and individuals are welcome to support this effort to the CUF General Fund with the “Let’s Clean Donbas Together” project in the memo or by contacting the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

More photos (photo credit: “Ukrainian Deminers Association”)

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News Humanitarian/Medical Save A Life Ukraine

“Oxygen for Life” Program to Help Vulnerable with Critical Pandemic Medical Equipment – CUF Supporting Ukraine COVID Relief

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) announced on October 1, 2021, a donation to help fight the impacts of COVID-19 in Ukraine, particularly hard hit by the fourth wave of the global pandemic. Together with partners League of Ukrainian Canadians, Dnipro-Oshawa Fund at BCU Foundation, and the Ukrainian National Federation, CUF committed a $30,000 CAD donation to support the “Oxygen for Life” Phase 2 program mounted by Kyiv-based civil society organization Initiative E+.

Transparency International has noted an acute shortage of hospital beds in Ukraine, with many COVID-19 patients not receiving required oxygen support, being discharged with low oxygen-saturation levels, and without provision of oxygen concentrators for self-management, due to shortages of equipment. 

Kyiv-based Initiative E+, which specializes in humanitarian and charitable work across Ukraine, created the “Oxygen for Life” program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to dramatically improve the lives of vulnerable patients recovering from COVID and other respiratory comorbidities. Supported by community volunteers, Initiative E+ operates an oxygen therapy support and exchange program with the goal of addressing critical equipment shortages, and assisting patients recovering from COVID-19. The project is particularly designed to support remote communities and vulnerable populations struggling with limited access to oxygen therapy support.

CUF’s sponsorship will allow Initiative E+ to procure twenty oxygen concentrators, thus boosting its inventory of the life-saving devices by fifty percent.

Direct beneficiaries of this project will include hospitals and rural ambulatory clinics, seniors with difficulty accessing medical care, patients recovering from COVID in remote areas or with respiratory comorbidities, and long-term care residents.

“The monumental effort and delivery of oxygen and life-saving equipment from the Canada-Ukraine Foundation is desperately required,” stated Dr. John M. Quinn V, MD, MPh, PhD, expert in health diplomacy and health security, and Alumnus Scholar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. “The unfortunate vaccine hesitancy and scattered vaccine uptake against COVID-19 evidenced with the well-below-target penetrance in almost all regions make the Delta/Delta+ variants major threats to health and growing risk to a never-ending pandemic crisis in Ukraine. The requirement for life-saving oxygen therapy throughout ICUs, hospitals and clinics can be filled with the stopgap of oxygen concentrator support.”

CUF’s goal is to support, fund and manage humanitarian, economic development, governance, and rule of law projects that focus on Ukraine. Its humanitarian missions support a reinforcement of Ukraine’s medical reform and sustainable medical development. CUF’s medical initiatives favour local projects that provide immediate assistance, benefit the most vulnerable, and will have a lasting impact. Accordingly, all equipment obtained through CUF’s sponsorship will be donated to Ukrainian medical facilities in need of oxygen therapy augmentation, post-pandemic.

“This is a prime example of how the robust Canada-Ukraine relationship, and the strong people-to-people networks between our countries can make a real difference,” said Orest Sklierenko, President and CEO of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. “We’re proud we can identify worthwhile, lifesaving projects, complete a thorough due diligence efficiently, and deploy resources in time to make a material impact on real people’s lives. This project fits squarely in CUF’s mission and vision as demonstrated for more than 25 years.”

CUF will continue to raise funds to cover the operational expenses of the “Oxygen for Life” project, such as fuel for equipment delivery, oxygen filter replacements, and accountability monitoring. Organizations, corporations and individuals are welcome to support CUF in this effort with financial or relevant material donations. Contributions may be made online at CUF’s donation page for Medical Missions or by contacting the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

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News

Bohdan Kovaluk (1929 – 2021)

On Sunday, July 11, 2021, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation lost a friend, Bohdan Kovaluk, who for decades supported CUF in diverse ways.

Despite all of life’s challenges, Mr. Kovaluk was a great gentleman and highly regarded within the community. He was exceptionally committed to honouring his heritage and family.

Bohdan’s daughter, Melanie Kovaluk, shared his life story:


“Bohdan passed away peacefully with his loving wife at his side on Sunday, July 11, at the age of 92 after suffering from Alzheimer’s for the last ten years.

He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years Maria Matwijas Hasiuk, daughters Melania Kovaluk, Tetiana Kovaluk and son Markian Kovaluk. Grandfather to Kalyna Lewycky, Zachary Lewycky, Luba Chabursky, Greg Chabursky, Eva Kovaluk, Alexia Kovaluk and great grandfather of Maxime Arcand and Emma Arcand. Uncle to nephews and nieces residing in the US, Sweden and Lviv, Ukraine.

Born in Kolomya, Ukraine, on January 22, 1929, the family moved to Lviv, Ukraine. His father, Mykola Kowaluk, ran a family publishing company called Vidavnitstvo Record.

After the war, Bohdan joined his five sisters and his mother in Berchtesgaden, Germany, where he became an active member of the Ukrainian scouting organization Plast. He completed his High School diploma and began his Engineering studies in Luvin, Belgium.

In 1953 Bohdan moved to Montreal where he completed his engineering degree at McGill University and continued working devotedly in the Plast Ukrainian community where he was a leader and example to all.”

Together with his sisters, Bohdan Kovaluk established the Melania Kovaluk Memorial Fund at the Canada-Ukraine Foundation in memory of their mother to provide scholarships to high school graduates from Melania Kovaluk’s home village of Zabolotivtsi to pursue studies at a higher level. Throughout the years, Mr. Kovaluk personally helped manage the Fund, communicated with the CUF and schools in Ukraine, greeted scholarship recipients and much more.

The family asks to donate to the Melania Kovaluk Memorial Fund at the Canada Ukraine Foundation in lieu of flowers. The Foundation thanks the Kovaluk family for continuing Mr. Kovaluk’s legacy.

He was a man of action and great respect, and we are grateful for the gift of his life!

Вічная Пам’ять!

To make donating more accessible, the CUF suggests making donations towards the Melania Kovaluk Memorial Fund in memory of Bohdan Kovaluk online by clicking here or by mailing cheques to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, 620 Spadina Ave., Suite 200 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2H4 Canada. Please indicate in the cheque memo that the donation is for the Melania Kovaluk Memorial Fund.

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News Uncategorized

CUF Summer Students 2021 and Executive Coordinator

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation welcomes the 2021 summer students through the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program. This program is designed by the Government of Canada to provide flexible and holistic services to help all young Canadians develop their skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market.

Orest Sklierenko, CUF President & CEO said: “On behalf of the Executive Committee and the entire Board of Directors of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, I am grateful to the Canadian government for funding three employees over this summer to help us move our programs forward and achieve our strategic objectives. We are looking forward to working with Solomiya, Paul and Maksym in providing them with an enriching learning experience and marketable skills for their future.”

Meet our summer students:

Solomiya Sharun is a Masters’ student in Development Studies at York University. Solomiya has a strong ability to analyse issues from a variety of perspectives and understands social issues. She has worked at the Canada Ukraine Trade and Investment Support Project (CUTIS). Inspired by CUTIS’ gender strategies aimed towards women’s inclusiveness in trade and the prevalence of traditional gender business stereotypes in Ukraine, her research focus intends to investigate women’s underrepresentation in Ukraine’s agricultural sector. Solomiya previously interned with CUF on a volunteer basis and is excited to be working with CUF again as our Marketing Coordinator.

Paul Kuzyshyn is an active member of the Ukrainian community in Ottawa and Montreal. He holds a Bachelors’ degree of Social Sciences in International Development & Globalization from the University of Ottawa. Paul worked for a number of years at BCU Financial in Ottawa, where he was engaged with the Ukrainian community on a daily basis. He is also a member of the Ottawa Ukrainian Student Club where he helped organize social events and fundraisers. Paul is joining our team as an Administrative Assistant – Fundraising/Grant preparation.  

Maksym Woychyshyn is an honours high school graduate looking forward to starting at the University of Toronto in September of this year. His passion is centered around Robotics so he will be studying computer science, statistics and mathematics in university. He is active in the Ukrainian community, volunteering his time helping seniors at Ivan Franko Homes with various tasks including setting up streaming services. Maksym will also be working as an Administrative Assistant concentrating on Archive and Data management.


The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) is excited to welcome our newest team member: Julia Stech!

Julia has joined us as our Executive Coordinator and will be reporting to our President/CEO Orest Sklierenko and COO Oksana Kuzyshyn. Julia will also be responsive to our Board and Committee chairs, assisting them with their programming requirements.

Julia’s primary focus will be developing, launching and executing CUF’s capacity building fundraising campaign and optimizing communications with major donors, partner organizations and other stakeholders. Over this summer she will also assist in supervising our three Canada Summer Jobs employees, making sure that they are engaged and provided with interesting and useful tasks beneficial to their skills development.

Julia comes to us from the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute Foundation (Executive Administrator) and has working experience from the Petro Jacyk Education Foundation (Administrator) and the Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre (Marketing Specialist). Prior to that she was the Project Manager – fundraising at the Ukrainian Catholic University, development department. Julia earned her Master’s degree in journalism from the Institute of Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University, her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv as well as holds a certificate in conflict management and a diploma in marketing.

Julia is a member of the Board of Directors at Svitlychka, Ukrainian Cooperative Nursery School of Toronto and a member of Plast – Ukraine’s national scouting movement.

We are excited to see her apply her extensive fundraising, marketing and management experience and first-rate education to help us grow our Foundation and achieve our Strategic goals.

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Uncategorized News

Presidential Remarks

Adapted from President’s remarks at the Annual General Meeting of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation held Saturday, June 5, 2021

Dear friends and supporters of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

One year into my term and 15 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be natural to look back and reflect on what has been accomplished over the past year. While it is important to do that in order to track and measure how our internal work and external partnerships and programming are progressing towards achieving our long-term strategic goals, we do that on a regular basis at Executive Committee and Board meetings. So today, here at the AGM I would prefer to look forward.

Thank you

But before we look forward, I’d like to say Thank You! Thank you to:

• All the friends, supporters, and donors without whom CUF would not be able to deliver the programs and projects it has been involved in over more than 25 years.

• CUF’s member organizations for your collaboration, cooperation and support. The League of Ukrainian Canadians, Help us Help, UNF, Ukrainian Self-Reliance League, Plast, the Brotherhood of Ukrainian Catholics and the Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions.

• Dzherelo for their partnership and continued great work, and to all our other partner fund holders, whether it be the continued work of the Liubov project, the Kovaluk scholarships, the LNAU Jaroslav Zajshlyj scholarships, the donors from the Cosbild group and our most recent partners, the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine.

• Our partners at UCC, its national leadership and its provincial affiliates, as well as the Ukrainian World Congress and its member organizations

• CUF Board member and the external committee members: each and every one of you is aligned behind CUF’s mission and vision and I Thank You for your time and commitment.

• Lesya, who has continued to work tirelessly with Brad and the Finance/Audit committee to keep the books in check and our finances in order

• Ambassador Derek Fraser for your years of service to our country and to CUF. Ambassador Fraser stepped down from the Board of CUF earlier this year.
Дякуємо!

Welcome

On that note, I’d also like to make a few Welcomes!

• Ambassador Roman Waschuk joined the CUF board earlier this year and already brought his calm and thoughtful approach to several discussions on a range of topics

• I’d also like to introduce Julia Stech, our Executive Coordinator. Welcome Julia! We look forward to the energy and skillset you bring to our organization. One of Julia’s first tasks will be overseeing CUF’s summer students, whom we also welcome at this time!
Вітаємо!

Looking forward

As we add new board members and begin to build out the CUF office, let’s look forward as we continue to write the second 25 year chapter in CUF’s story together.
Key internal areas of focus from the strategic plan are:

1.) Fundraising (for capacity building)
2.) Promoting the CUF brand to all stakeholders
3.) Optimizing the CUF organizational chart
4.) Establish a paid support staff
5.) Expand presence on the ground in Ukraine

Internally, we have made progress in bringing technology to our meetings and operations, in financial reporting and oversight and we are hiring our first staff member. All these advances will help create a solid foundation for addressing CUF’s strategic priorities.

Welcoming Julia is just the beginning of the build-out of the CUF office. As she onboards with the leadership of Oksana and others on our board and executive, Julia will bring her fundraising and communications skillsets and help progress the work on a couple of immediate needs – capacity building and communications.

External

Key external areas of focus from the 2020 strategic plan are:

1.) Developing smart partnerships – with key organizations inside and outside our community, inside and outside government;
2.) Developing smart processes – to assess impact and sustainability of future projects and measure projects underway;
3.) Shift the geographic focus to ensure Eastern Ukraine is included in the scope of work.
I’m pleased to see progress from all our committees has continued through the pandemic. The external committee chairs will update the AGM and our external stakeholders in separate presentations/communications.

CUF President Advisory Councils

Finally, I’d like to announce that we are forming President’s Advisory Councils in the areas of Healthcare, Education, Civil Society and Youth. The members of councils will be experts in their respective fields and serve as advisors to the CUF President and members of our board who are working on the relevant committee.

Stay tuned to our social media channels and website for more updates in all the above areas in the coming weeks, months and years.

Thank You once again for your support and dedication – together, we will continue the culture of excellence and take CUF to the next level.

Orest Sklierenko
President & CEO
Canada-Ukraine Foundation

Categories
News Holodomor National Awareness Tour

A new Module for the Holodomor National Awareness Tour

“A Genocide begins with the killing of one man; not for what he has done, but because of who he is.” – Koffi Annan, U.N Secretary-General 2001

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed not only how people interact with each other, but also how Holodomor awareness is brought to the public.  Although the HMC’s travels across Canada are currently on hold, we continue to spread awareness by strengthening our social media presence on Twitter and Facebook,  and turning to online virtual learning for students.

As classrooms around the globe are going virtual so have we, by creating a pre-recorded online high school module, “Introduction to the Holodomor:  A Virtual Lesson for Schools”.

This lesson is a primer on the concept of genocide, the history of the Holodomor, and offers a call-to-action for students to fight against hate and prejudice and to advocate for social justice in their communities.  Guided by a narrator, students explore primary and secondary sources, do a short quiz, and write a reflection piece exploring the steps they can take towards being active citizens, which their teacher receives.  We are reaching out to high school principals and teachers about this lesson, and have over 129 schools now signed up for the lesson.

We continue to have a strong presence on Facebook with over 2,450 followers averaging a 1.12% engagement rate, well above the average for non-profit organizations.  On Twitter (@HolodomorTour) we have over 800 followers, with a rate of 1.8%, and an “impressions” rate of 1.8 million views.  We develop organized posts about the Holodomor, other genocides and international human rights abuses.  Being inclusive of other atrocities not only widens the reach of the Holodomor genocide, but also lends support to others who have also suffered, and are currently experiencing, crimes against humanity.

2021 continues to be a year that has many global events taking the news forefront and we are extremely pleased with our direct school based and social media Holodomor awareness campaigns.  The Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Holodomor National Awareness Tour gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation as well as that of the Federal Government and our many private sponsors, so that we can continue to carry this project further into the future. 

About the Ontario Trillium Foundation

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities.

Categories
Humanitarian/Medical News

New Branches for Dzherelo in Lviv

Dzherelo Children’s Rehab Centre in Lviv is growing new branches. No longer will all programs be provided from the one centre on Chervonoyi Kalyny Avenue. Dzherelo is expanding and developing its programming for children with special needs by getting ready to establish a sixth satellite branch!

For over 25 years, Dzherelo Children’s Rehabilitation Centre has been operating as an independent facility in Lviv, focusing on the consultation, rehabilitation treatment, education and counselling of both children with special needs and their families. For too long, many of these children had been hidden from mainstream society, locked up in homes and prevented from attending school. So, while Ukraine’s education system is slowly adapting to inclusive education close to special needs students’ homes, Dzherelo is also making strides in this direction. The new Dzherelo satellite branches are located in residential neighbourhoods outside the Lviv city centre, offering services closer to the homes where the children live. These new satellite projects are necessary to reduce the stressful, costly and lengthy travel time and ultimately improve families’ quality of life.

The Dzherelo team is constantly working on updating and improving their programs. Since 2018, they have opened five satellite branches of Dzherelo in different areas of Lviv city. The satellites and expansion of programs are only possible with the City Council’s financial help, other government levels, and community fundraising. Together, with each partner’s contribution, it becomes possible to renovate, furnish, and install the facilities’ special equipment. Only then can the staff, trained at Dzherelo, begin taking in and integrating the children planning to attend.

With five branch satellites operating, the next challenge is expanding the Dzherelo Centre’s programs by opening branch No.6 in Vynnyky (a suburb of Lviv).  The facility will have a total area of nearly 300 square meters and offer daycare programs for ten younger children plus ten youths with special needs living nearby. The availability of services close to home is paramount for the children and their families health and welfare.

Lviv City Council had made a specific funding decision to allocate an appropriate building for use by Dzherelo. The local city administration provided such a building, and in due course, other government levels were also committed to funding the costs involved in building improvements and specific adaptations.  

Dzherelo satellite branch No.6 now requires about $23,000 (500 thousand hryvnias) to furnish the premises with specially adapted furniture, a projector, a computer, some mobile and ceiling lifts. 

To ensure this funding and the completion of this expansion project, Canadian donors have volunteered to supply the required portion of the costs, as indicated by the Lviv Regional (Oblast) Council’s budget proposal.  Druzi Dzherela, through the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF), is committed to providing the promised community contribution funds.

You can donate to this worthwhile project through Druzi Dzherela in Toronto with the Canada-Ukraine Foundation’s help. Your generosity will ensure the successful and timely completion of Dzherelo satellite branch No.6 for the benefit of Lviv’s special children!

For more information about Dzherelo, please view their website at  www.dzherelocentre.org.ua.

To donate, contact the Canada-Ukraine Foundation at  https://www.cufoundation.ca/dzherelo-childrens-rehabilitation-centre/