01/14/98

Atanas T. Kobryn column:

Caroling for a cause

Last week's column mentioned the tradition of caroling from house to house, practiced by Ukrainian community here in North Port and vicinity, "to solicit donations for various organizations and worthy causes."

One of my friends who reads the column and always finds something to criticize was not really critical this time (Christmas spirit?) but was wondering why not even one "worthy cause" was mentioned in my column. He doesn't realize that the editors of this or of any other paper have their rules as to the length of a column, including this one. Furthermore, to list all "various organizations and worthy cause" in one column would very definitely cause any editor to panic.

I didn't promise my friend anything, but after thinking it over I came to the conclusion that readers, both Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, would like to know something about this year's caroling projects. Several groups have already visited our home, sang one verse of a carol and extended the customary and traditional greetings. Several more are expected, because the "caroling season" doesn't end on the last day of holidays. Here are some of the "causes."

Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, headquartered in Short Hills, N.J., is one of the better known organizations dedicated to helping victims of the Chornobyl disaster which occurred in Ukraine (at that time still a colony of USSR headed by the now pizza salesman Mikhael Gorbachev) in 1986. This organization sends medications and other supplies (medical, rehabilitation) and arranges for the visits of medical specialists to various regions of Ukraine where victims of Chornobyl are being treated. The emphasis is on children.

Friends of Chornobyl Center, United States (FOCCUS), the UNESCO affiliated organization, headquartered Madison, Wisc., is sponsoring several rehabilitation centers in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in the areas affected by the 1986 disaster. The center programs include medical, social, educational, cultural and other programs. In 1996 alone, the centers provided services to nearly 150,000 people of all ages.

Both of these projects are 501 (c) (3) voluntary, nonprofit, tax exempt organizations. For additional information, call me at 423-9499.

Basilica Of Blessed Virgin Mary In Zarvanytsya, Ukraine, is being constructed and the fund raising is in progress throughout the world, including here. The shrine of a miraculous icon of Mary, Mother of God, was destroyed during the war and the Soviet communist occupation. For Ukrainians of Western Ukraine, who are mostly Catholics, the Zarvanytsya place of worship was equivalent to Fatima in Portugal, or Lourdes in France, and it is much older than these two. All contributors to the building of this shrine will receive a Certificate of Appreciation with special blessings.

I hope that these three "worthy causes" illustrate the picture. Several others include, but are not limited to: Harvard University Ukrainian Studies Fund Inc., disabled veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), Humanitarian Help to Ukraine, and others.

Some I support to the best of my ability, others receive only a token support, because it is improper to turn away carolers once they arrive at one's residence.

Atanas T. Kobryn is an immigrant from Ukraine who writes about his former country and the Ukrainian community for the North Port Sun Herald.