New York City fashion show to support women's health in Ukraine (05/25/03)

New York City fashion show to support women's health in Ukraine

by Khristina Lew

NEW YORK - When New York's Ukrainian-born models strut the catwalk at a charity fashion show at the Ukrainian Institute of America on June 7, Ukrainian women in villages and towns thousands of miles away will benefit. The New York fashion show, the second stop in a five-city North American tour of Ukrainian designers, will raise funds for the purchase of mammography equipment for Ukraine.

In a truly international effort, diaspora organizations like the Ukrainian Institute of America (UIA) and the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA), companies such as McGraw-Hill and the non-governmental organization the Ukrainian Women's Fund, a network of women's organizations committed to strengthening women's initiatives, advancing women's rights and advocating women's issues in Ukraine, have collaborated to produce the "Because Life is Beautiful" fashion show fund-raiser.

More than 15,000 women annually are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ukraine. Ukraine has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Europe. Pollution, increased automobile use and the aftermath of Chornobyl have contributed to the high rates. The heavily industrialized cities of Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Kyiv see the largest number of women with breast cancer.

The mortality rate in Ukraine is also one of the highest in Europe. "There is a stigma in Ukraine associated with breast cancer," said Natalia Bruslanova, a native of Cherkasy who is a member of the New York committee organizing the fashion show. "Women are not comfortable taking about it - there is a real lack of awareness," she added.

Raising awareness is the goal of the Ukrainian Women's Fund, which launched its Breast Cancer Awareness Program in 2002. The program's mission is twofold: to provide easy access to early detection, and to offer support services for women and their families after diagnosis. The UWF has raised $11,000 to date for its activities; the fashion show tour is part of its fund-raising effort.

The New York show will showcase the clothing, accessories and jewelry of Ukrainian designers Anna Babenko and Victoria Gres of Kyiv, and Oksana Karavanska of Lviv. The show will also feature a silent auction and a raffle, whose grand prize is a trip for two to Ukraine on Lot Airlines, with a three-night stay at the Impressa Hotel in Kyiv's Podil district.

The committee that is producing the New York fashion show is a diverse group brought together by the importance of the cause: financial analysts, journalists, bankers, lawyers, students, Ukrainians from Ukraine, Ukrainians from the diaspora, non-Ukrainians interested in helping.

"This group is unique and dynamic," said Melaniya Temnycka, who spearheaded the committee after talking with Marta Kolomayets, Ukrainian Women's Fund project coordinator for the fashion show tour. Ms. Kolomayets, a former associate editor of The Ukrainian Weekly, is also a board member of the Ukrainian Women's Fund and the Center for Ukrainian Reform Education (CURE).

Ms. Bruslanova got McGraw-Hill, the parent company of the firm where she works, to donate the printing of the invitations and the fashion show program book. Natalie Zimmer, another native of Cherkasy who is a designer for Marc Jacobs, brought in the models. "The great thing about this is that you don't have to be in Ukraine to help Ukrainians," said Bohdan Jaremko, a student who is donating his computer services.

For Oksana Veretka of Lviv, the issue is more personal. She knew two women with breast cancer in Lviv. "When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in Ukraine, it's like a death sentence," she said. She explains that women only go to the doctor when the situation is critical. "Few women have the time or the economic means to go to a medical doctor," she said.

And the road to diagnosis is long. Few Ukrainian women perform self-exams breast exams. Typically, there is only one mammogram per oblast, and the wait to be screened can be anywhere from one month to three months. Once diagnosed, there is the issue of treatment. "A course of chemotherapy costs $60. If a woman earns $50 a month, there's not much talk of treatment," she said.

As do many members of the New York committee, Ms. Veretka hopes that the awareness campaign will continue beyond the fashion show. "We all want to see this grow," said Ms. Temnycka.

The fashion show tour begins in Chicago on May 30 at the Chicago Cultural Center and continues on to Detroit on May 31 at the Studio Jewell, Toronto on June 1 at the Ukrainian Culture Center, Washington on June 5 at the Embassy of Ukraine, and New York on June 7 at the Ukrainian Institute of America.

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