My Trip to Ukraine - Spring 2015 - Day 1

I'm on my way to Ukraine again and will be blogging this trip.

I hope you'll find my posts interesting and please feel free to comment. I will be moderating comments, however, and only comments that adhere to the rules of common courtesy will be published.

On my way to Ukraine I'm stopping a few days in Toronto. The flight on Air Canada was uneventful ... delayed (not surprisingly) out of both Nanaimo and Vancouver. Despite being stuck in a middle seat again, on a full flight, it was a comfortable enough ride. The seats had little headrests on either side, so I was even able to nod off for a bit without killing my neck too much!

For some reason I decided to check out the in-flight movies. I seldom do that, preferring to read my Kindle or nap.

But on the this trip I scrolled through the movies and chose American Sniper.

I'm not sure why. Or if it was a good idea.

My initial thought is well, I'm going to a country that's at war. I suppose I should get into that headspace. It certainly got me that.

The movie lives up to all the accolades, and more. It was gripping. My heart pounded. I gasped out loud. And at the end, I cried.

And I cried. Sobbed like my heart had broken.

It drove home the reality of life for ordinary people, like me, where I am heading (Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipropetrivsk) and what is happening there to living, breathing, loving people.

It made me FEEL the insanity, the horror and the despair of war ... more strongly than I ever did before.

And it made me despise, more deeply than before, the depraved notion of "the glory of war" ... which I heard uttered (to my abject horror) many years ago by an officer at a military banquet.

This movie is brilliant, not least of all for the way it depicts and draws you in to the horrible reality of war, making you feel as deeply as it respects your intelligence. And, perhaps, challenges it.

IMHO, this move deserved every Academy Award it was nominated for. A travesty that it only got one (for Best Sound Editing). 

Highly recommended.

 

On the ground in Ukraine with HART

According to this article, Ukraine will spend millions of dollars for cooperating with 'diasporans.'

Ukrainian tax dollars will go to cover the travel expenses of "friends of the government" who visit Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, even Brazil ... ostensibly to network with the Ukrainian diaspora.

I imagine few of those footing the bill consider there is much likelihood of many such “ambassadors” actually coming face-to-face with a "diasporan" in such places as Miami or the French Riviera.

Meanwhile on the ground in Ukraine, I'm currently seeing first hand the conditions in which beleaguered taxpayers live, and the breathtaking incompetence of those in charge of collecting and spending their tax hryvias.

So incompetent and indifferent are these stewards of the public purse that impoverished Ukrainians have to rely on foreign charities for a leg up and a shot at a decent standard of living.

My host organization for this trip, HART (Humanitarian Aid Response Team out of Calgary), is quite unlike the elitist sycophants jetsetting and hobnobbing at the expense of hard-working Ukrainian citizens.

I arrived in Lviv on July 18 and have already had several jaw-dropping experiences ... both good and bad, happy and sad. My host, Lloyd Cenaiko, the founder of HART keeps assuring me that I will have very many more during the rest of our time together here.

HART raises funds in western Canada… from mostly non-Ukrainian evangelical Christians. And 100% of funds raised goes to Ukrainians in need who are off the radar of the local authorities, and the diaspora for that matter. (Funds to cover administrative costs are raised separately.)

HART supports local organizations (primarily evangelical churches) that set up soup kitchens for street children, summer camps for orphans, and programs for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, hardened criminals, the handicapped, trafficked women, orphans, and other disadvantaged Ukrainians.

Particularly astonishing is a hugely successful prison ministry run by evangelicals. As a result of their efforts, hundreds of hardened criminals are now leading normal, productive lives and contributing to the communities in which they live.

Fimiam Church in Lutsk, Ukraine

The church I visited in Lutsk on Friday operates the only program in western Ukraine which supports the handicapped. (Update: This refers to a rehab program offered free of charge, particularly for the physically handicapped. Details in my interview with Lloyd.)

They also built a playground and soccer field which is available to the greater community of some 20,000 people. It is the only recreational area for kids in the area. As in most Ukrainian cities, such civic services as parks are low on the priority list of city officials.

Sadly, those willing to do the work encounter roadblock after roadblock set up by officials and the elites who influence them.

Inside of activity tent

These include (shamefully) clerics in traditional churches who envy the success of the huge and growing evangelical churches and their outreach programs. They obviously don't like the competition ... yet refuse to roll up their sleeves and do similar work themselves. (I believe the term is: dog in the manger.)

After visiting Fimiam Church in Lutsk we dropped off Canadian volunteers from Three Hills, AB at a summer Bible camp a couple of hours past Lutsk.

Hot water shower!

The camp was primitive but teeming with Ukrainian ingenuity! They set up sleeping tents and had a great eating/activity tent and the cooking tent was pretty skookum.

The outhouse was a hole in the floor, but they rigged up a hot water shower ... there in the middle of nowhere! We thought they were kidding when they told us about it in Lutsk. Sometime's it's hard to tell when Ukrainians are joking and when they are serious. LOL

To get to the camp, we drove on atrocious roads, and through a terribly poverty-stricken village inhabited by mostly alcoholic men and their wives and children struggling to make some kind of a life for themselves. The houses reminded me of my grandparents' old homestead khata I vaguely recall from my childhood days in Saskatchewan, after the spiders and mice had taken over residence. Very sad.

Yet, interestingly, there were lovely flower gardens in just about every yard (planted of course by the women). And vegetable gardens, and lots of geese. A reflection, perhaps, of the enduring beauty of the Ukrainian soul struggling to survive against all odds.

Today (Sunday) I was at an evangelical church that had been a TV factory in the soviet era. Ironically, it was a originally a church that the soviets trashed and converted to a factory that ran 24/7. Miraculously, some lovely arched windows and a bit of stained glass survived the pillage.

There is much renovation left to do and the congregation has a huge vision for social outreach. Another irony – most of the money comes from a Calgary church working with HART. An evangelical church, that is - not a Ukrainian Catholic or Orthodox church. However a Ukrainian Catholic church in Calgary has expressed interest in working with HART, so hopefully that will change.

There is a gargantuan amount of work to be done "in the trenches" to raise the standard of living in Ukraine to anything resembling what diasporans in the west take for granted.

It is ironic, and sad, how much of it is being taken up by non-Ukrainians and people of Ukrainian descent (like the founder of HART) outside the established Ukrainian community. The saddest part is how many people in the diaspora wrap themselves in the Ukrainian flag and then go hobnobbing with the very political elites whose corruption they publicly decry.

This trip, my third to Ukraine, is marked by a stark contrast between heartbreaking poverty and a shining hope for the future.

HART invited me to Ukraine to see what they do on the ground here. I am particularly intrigued with their child sponsor program, one of the most successful to have been established.

The cost to sponsor a child in Ukraine is $1 a day, which converts (at the current exchange rate) to about 8 hryvnias. The average salary of most families who are sponsored is about 300 hryvnias a month.

I am asking Nash Holos listeners and other readers of this blog to consider sponsoring a Ukrainian child through HART.

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day, a Canadian or American can almost double the household income of an impoverished Ukrainian family, and give a Ukrainian child not only the gift of practical necessities, but also of hope for the future.

As Lloyd Cenaiko, the founder of HART, often points out, it is only by accident of birth that Canadians of Ukrainian descent are not experiencing the hardships and hopelessness that so many native Ukrainians do.

Please join me in sponsoring a Ukrainian child, if for no other reason than to express gratitude for the good fortune to be born in a land of opportunity – and for having the opportunity to “give back” to our ancestral homeland.

It's the least those of us in the diaspora can do.

Plus, you can be assured that every cent of your donation will end up in the hands of those for whom it is intended ... and not the ruling elite and their friends.

You can find a link to HART’s child sponsor program at the Nash Holos website.

More later ... 

Next stop: somewhere in the Carpathian mountains.

Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Vancouver

Mir Huculak in a playful pose with cultural artifacts
at the Ukraine Pavilion during Fusion Fest 2011 in
Surrey. The giant pysanka egg he's holding is the
creation of Marcia Moroz, a Richmond artist.
Photo credit: Marcia Moroz.

Mir Huculak is a very well-known personality in the BC Ukrainian community to which he has devoted himself for decades.

Less well-known perhaps are the details and scope of his work and accomplishments over the years, in particular the past 3 or 4 years as Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Vancouver.

In my 20+ years here on the west coast of Canada, I have noticed that at any festival where there is Ukrainian presence, it’s impossible to not bump into Mir!

However, quite frankly I had no idea really what exactly it is that a Consul (or for that matter a Consolate) does.

At one festival this past summer I had the good fortune to chat with Mir for a few minutes. He graciously agreed to come on the show to tell Nash Holos listeners a bit about his role as Honorary Consul of Ukraine in British Columbia, what function a consulate serves and some of projects he is currently working on at the consulate.

Our interview aired on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in Vancouver on AM1320 on October 23, 2011, and on the PCJ Radio Network the following weekend. You can hear the full interview here.

The consulate of Ukraine for British Columbia is located at #807-938 Howe Street, Vancouver. If you’d like to meet with Mir, you can book an appointment by phone at (604) 331-2505 or by email.

Great video snapshot of Ukraine

Just came across this lovely video showcasing the splendours of Ukraine.

The few typos and oddly translated idioms ("dissolve into meadows" and "inhale a gulp of fresh air") only enhance the charm of the outstanding videography ... and music.

The group btw is called Stelsi and I hope they'll agree to send me some of their awesome music to share on the show.

The video was made in 2008, the year that I visited Ukraine with my mom, two sisters and two nieces. Now I am feeling very nostalgic about that trip, so maybe this is the time to revisit it and share the rest of my memories here.

I also recorded some live music at a restaurant we visited in Kyiv by a group called Cheremosh. Unfortunately they have no website or CDs, but I can tell you they were terrific! And I can share their music with listeners of Nash Holos. :-)

So much to blog, so little time! But, I'll try my best to keep up and bring it all to you in good time.

In the meantime, enjoy the video!

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Sorochinsky Fair

Great article in the Kyiv Post about Ukraine's famous Sorochinsky Fair, which took place this year Aug. 17-22.

Except for a period during the regressive and repressive soviet era, this historic open-air market has been around a long time. Ukrainian writer Nicolai Gogal (properly translitered as Hohol from Ukrainian) wrote a short story about it, and Mussorgsky composed an opera about it. With over 700,000 visitors, it is as popular today as it ever was.

Villagers and gawkers from all over Ukraine flock to this annual five-day feast for theater plays and insane shopping.

Back in the 19th century, this fair was no different from others. It owes its popularity to writer Nikolai Gogol, who was born in Velyki Sorochintsy, the same village where the fair is held. In his novel, he described all the action of wheeling and dealing, which, to be honest, hasn’t changed much. The fair is still a mess: rows of piglets mix with buckets of ostrich feathers.

But for many, this eclectic mix of disorganized village produce is the main attraction. Presidents and parliament deputies make it a must stop to mingle with simple folk and buy Ukrainian souvenirs.

The fair is only a three-hour drive from Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

Details of the fair (including highlights of previous years' fairs) are available at the fair's website here.

Vasyl did a charming feature on the fair on his Kultural Capsule on the August 29 broadcast of Nash Holos.  You can listen to it here.

Enjoy!

Airport Transfers in Kyiv

When planning my next trip to Ukraine, this company will be at the top of my list.

This professional-looking site for ground transportation in the Ukrainan capital city is crisp, clean and totally uncluttered with trashy flesh-peddling ads. A refreshing change from most sites based in Ukraine.

My only complaint is that it still uses the stodgy soviet-era spelling of their city (Kiev) instead of the contemporary, and very cool, Kyiv. Maybe they'll get with it soon. :-)

But in the meantime, I'll certainly be checking it out, and recommending that others do as well.

You can check it out here.

Fun on the Dnipro

Now this is a cruise I'd love to take!

The boating season on the Dnipro River is short. But many options are now available, from one-hour jaunts on the spectacular waterway to long excursions that end at the Black Sea.

The Dnipro River made it on the top 10 list of European river cruises by Reuters news agency. It’s hard to argue with the honor.

The ancient waterway has marvelous landscapes along its banks, with Pechersk Lavra and other churches rising majestically ...

“We have the following routes: Kyiv – Zaporizhya – Kherson – Sevastopol – Odesa and return,” said Lesya Bohuslavska, sales director of the company. “If becomes a 12-day route then Kaniv and Kremenchuk are added.”

In every port, the ship stops for at least seven hours. Large cities like Sevastopol and Odesa have two-day stops. An average 600-800 euro tour includes three meals a day, excursions around cities and lectures on Ukrainian culture, history, language and dress. Passengers also learn to sing Ukrainian songs and to make the national dish varenyky.

“Eighty percent of the tourists are foreigners and they are interested in everything connected with Ukraine,” Bohuslavska explains. This year, however, they have fewer people from the United States and Canada. ...

Full article here.