пл.сен. Остап Гавалєшка, V про роль Пласту у вихованні української молоді
OSTAP HAWALESHKA
Professor of Engineering
Date and Place of Birth: Bucharest, Romania
Date of Interview: February 2, 1939
Place of Interview: Mississauga, Ontario
Interviewer: Jurij Darewych
Length of Interview: Part 1 – 01:10:22 (raw); Part 2 – 00:52:25 (raw)
(Excerpt):
I think what needs to be said is that when Baden-Powell created ‘scouting for boys’, he did it not so the boys went to the army, but so that he could raise decent citizens. And when I try to look objectively, we had а slightly greater task assigned to us than simply being ‘good’ citizens of our country. We also had Ukraine in the back of our minds through our parents because of the way they raised us, and the things that influenced us throughout our lives – Ukrainian music, Ukrainian literature, Ukrainian history. We were always ready in some form to help Ukraine. It’s just like how I came up with that silly army story where they parachuted me into Ukraine. Why not somewhere else? So when I look very objectively in general at PLAST alumni, those who are still in PLAST, and those who maybe are not or have outgrown it, I am in fact impressed with the quality of these people. How much of their time, knowledge, and skill they have contributed to the development of their Ukrainian community be it either in Canada, in Australia, in Germany, or anywhere else. Or even in the general community where they live. I think that this is the fantastic result of an organization like PLAST.
CROSS REFERENCES:
• Yangel and Kondratiuk medals from Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre (UCRDC)