Alexander Kuzma talks about his work at the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund and his family leisure time
I meet Alexander Kuzma, executive director of the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund (CCRDF), in his office on Saturday morning. Dressed in a blazer and jeans, he is eager to share how, the previous evening, while walking through Holosievsky Park with his three daughters, they spotted a nightingale. The avid birdwatcher explains how elusive these small birds with big voices are, and he is clearly delighted at the sighting.
Like many from the diaspora who live a two-layered Ukrainian-American life, Kuzma peppers his animated, precise English with Ukrainian words for emphasis. At 50, he looks nearly 20 years younger, although his composed demeanor and easy articulateness betray many years of practice in interpersonal communication.
For the children
For several years, Kuzma and his wife Irene had been considering moving to Kyiv from Connecticut with their three daughters (aged 11, 9, and 3). After visiting Ukraine with Alina, his oldest, in the fall of 2004, and then meeting charismatic new Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in Washington D.C. in 2005, Kuzma convinced his family that the time was right.
It was also right for CCRDF to have Kuzma, who has helped the organization develop for 15 years, fill the vacancy left by their departing Ukraine country director. CCRDF works to provide state-of-the-art medical aid to Ukrainian children who suffer from health problems caused by environmental pollution. The organization currently assists 22 hospitals and two orphanages throughout Ukraine by providing for medical equipment and training; it also continues to expand the scope of its aid projects.
Accustomed to traveling to Ukraine only twice a year for two-three weeks at a time, Kuzma sees many benefits to being based in Kyiv. He stresses the importance of having “direct access to local sponsors and local companies that are very familiar with the Chornobyl aftermath” rather than having to first explain the significance of the 1986 nuclear disaster before approaching potential sponsors. With more direct involvement with partner hospitals, Kuzma has gained better appreciation for their day-to-day struggles. Through talking to doctors and administrators personally and witnessing the implementation of contributions firsthand, Kuzma explains,” I can better understand how to tailor our campaign to their needs.”
Kuzma also helps “local partner hospitals understand how they can develop their own fundraising and development capabilities.” Over the past five-six years, he has noticed a “can-do” attitude in more of his Ukrainian associates, as well as a greater realization of local resources. For example, he cites a partner hospital in Lutsk that in 1999 began approaching local business for aid. Remarkably well received, the hospital was able to build a new laboratory and outfit it with contemporary equipment with the help of local firms. It now serves as a model for the development of a “local culture of philanthropy.”
For Kuzma, adapting to the slower pace of life in Ukraine has been challenging. Within CCDRF, projects advance at a brisk pace, but sometimes conflicts arise with certain Ukrainian organizations over varying ideas of urgency.
Family Circus
Kuzma admits that adjusting to life in Ukraine was tough for his entire family. He recounts with a wry smile when Teren, 9, said after six weeks in Kyiv, “Dad, I never want to hear the word ‘adventure’ again!”
Even though they live near Holosiyivsky Park, where Kuzma goes jogging and looks at the birds, the bustle of city life was a shock after suburban Connecticut. The girls were also initially stunned by the predominance of the unfamiliar Russian language in the Ukrainian capital.
But after nearly a year, everyone has adapted. Kuzma notes that his daughters “are developing much greater interest in history and politics at a much younger age.” Through immersion in the daily Ukrainian life so different from what they knew back home, they are “becoming world citizens, understanding how decisions that are made can affect people’s lives.”
To stimulate the girls’ interest in Ukrainian culture and history, the family has taken many trips. Last fall in Crimea, they visited Bakhchisarai, the monument to the battle of Sevastopol, and went horseback riding in the mountains.
The Kuzmas recently returned from visiting relatives in the Carpathian Mountains. The girls were happy they could comfortably communicate in Ukrainian there, and above all, thrilled by the natural beauty and peace of the mountains. They advised: “Dad, get rich so we can buy some land in the Carpathians, build a kolyba (Carpathian-style bar), and get a horse!”
Singing the praises of Ukrainian culture
Noting the ease with which they simply rented a car and drove 500 km to visit relatives in a village, Kuzma is awed by how much Ukraine has changed since his first trip to the country in 1977, as director of the Yale Russian Chorus. These same relatives, who traveled from the Carpathians to see him give a concert in Kyiv, were brutally interrogated for having contact with a foreigner.
But even under the dark shadow of the Brezhnev era, Kuzma saw a spark of hope in the public expression of the Ukrainian spirit. At the end of the Kyiv concert, risking deportation, he led the chorus in “Zirvalasya Khurtovyna,” an anthem of the underground Ukrainian resistance. Surprisingly, the song drew cheers and impassioned applause from the audience. Kuzma saw this reaction as a visible sign of the “chance that Ukraine would gain its independence someday.”
Kuzma still sings, joining the Pokrovska Church Choir in Podil for Sunday mass as often as he can. In addition to being inspired by the high level of musicianship among his fellow conservatory-trained choir members, he is eager to learn new music and directing techniques to share with Yevshan, the amateur community choir he has directed for 10 years in Connecticut.
Kuzma takes full advantage of the accessibility of the arts in Kyiv, frequently attending opera, ballet, and puppet theater performances with his family. While everyone in the family looks forward to returning to the U.S. in the summer and seeing family and friends, Kuzma muses about how nice it would be to return to Kyiv for another year. He plans to come back in the fall to continue his work for CCRDF and may even convince the rest of the family to return with him.
