Six Ukrainian women Veterans will visit WVU and Morgantown from March 24 to April 1 to learn about United States services, programs and resources available to Veterans and military service personnel.
In addition to attending local and state activities, the delegation is expected to visit the WVU Center for Veteran, Military and Family Programs, the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg and other resource centers.
They also expect briefings by congressional policy makers such as U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.
“We will demonstrate how local agencies collaborate in handling Veteran affairs and meet the needs of our country’s Veterans,” said Deanna Epps, coordinator and special assistant in the WVU Global Affairs Office. “Ukraine’s needs have now escalated for Veterans’ services.”
The all-female Ukrainian Veteran delegation is expected to apply what they learn upon their return home and to advise the Ukrainian Ministry of Veterans and local policymakers on how to create or bolster programs and services.
The focus is twofold: Helping women Veterans and supporting hard-pressed families of Ukraine’s military service personnel.
“We will again learn much through the Ukrainian delegation’s visit,” said Tara George-Jones, international risk manager for WVU Global Affairs. “The issues are always the same when we talk of Veterans’ services — after all, war is war.”
Nearly 17% of Ukraine’s Armed Forces are represented by females. These visitors have varied backgrounds, including enlistment during the first armed Russian incursion into Ukraine in 2014 and the most recent armed conflict beginning in 2022.
“In support of a week-long program we are now seeking host families to house the six female Veterans for one week,” said Paula Martinelli, West Virginia Council of International Programs president. “Our non-profit CIP organization has a 52-year history of hosting international professionals.”
The Ukraine visit is a collaborative effort between the West Virginia Council of International Programs and the WVU Global Affairs Office.
Local families willing to host one or two Ukrainian visitors should send an email to CIP@mail.wvu.edu. For program details, or further interest in becoming a host family, contact Epps at deanna.epps@mail.wvu.edu.