Dear friends,

I am raising funds to establish a perpetual scholarship at one of Ukraine's best universities in the memory of my dear friend Mykola Pekh, an inspiring and remarkable public activist from Lviv, Ukraine, who passed away in 2014. 

This is the continuation of a successful fundraising for a one-year Mykola Pekh scholarship: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andriy-maksymovych1

Despite being visually impaired since childhood, Mykola was an extremely optimistic and enthusiastic person. He has been an active social activist for over 15 years an worked in the areas of public health, social work and youth exchanges. Mykola was a co-founder of the NGO Wings of Hope, established to support visually impaired people as well as of the Institute of Ukrainian Studies. He was a co-coordinator of the Race for Children project, which raised over USD 60,000 to benefit Lviv maternity hospitals with brand new equipment to improve the pre- and after-natal care of prematurely born children. For his personal and professional qualities, Mykola was awarded highly competitive Chevening and FLEX scholarships, which allowed him to study in the UK and the U.S. Even though he could take a high paying job at a law firm, for all his life he remained committed to the NGO life and public service in Ukraine.  

See two short videos about Mykola here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ans4zlUsjL0 (5 mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZkqcJxlxxA (2 mins)

Unfortunately, in June 2014 Mykola unexpectedly fell ill and left us. As he was such a remarkable person, together with our NGO friends we would like to establish a legacy scholarship in his name at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). UCU is one of the leading universities in Ukraine setting high standards for scholarship, professionalism and transparency. It is famous for its impeccable reputation for integrity and zero tolerance to corruption. 

The Mykola Pekh Scholarship will support gifted UCU students who (i) either have disabilities or are enrolled in one of UCU's master programs focused on caring for impaired individuals and (ii) who show academic excellence and active community citizenship despite difficult circumstances – just as Mykola did.

I would be most grateful for you support of this initiative, which will allow gifted students to obtain prime education at one of Ukraine's best universities. Besides contributing to this important goal, your donation will be doubled by the Community Initiative Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).