Dr Lesa Melnyczuk Morgan has graciously donated $50,000 towards a new scholarship, the Melnyczuk Humanitarian Scholarship for displaced Ukrainian female nationals.

The scholarship will provide $25,000 across two years, commencing in 2023, to support and assist one displaced Ukrainian female national to complete their study at The University of Western Australia.

Having dedicated a large part of her life to academia, Lesa completed multiple degrees, had a successful career as an educator and now publishes children books to help teach Ukrainian history and culture.

Education is an important aspect of her life and a privilege she regards highly, which stems from her mother’s influence.

“Life was really tough, but in my head, my entire life I’ve had my mother saying, ‘Darling, educate yourself, educate yourself, educate yourself’,” she said.

According to Lesa, her mother said “even if I don’t have another meal on the table for me, I want my children to be educated”.

Having lived through the Holodomor, the man-made famine of the early 1930s in Soviet Ukraine, forced labour in Germany during WWII and finally migration as a post war refugee to Western Australia, Lesa’s mother, Stafania, was left without the opportunity for an extensive education. Despite this, she always encouraged her daughter to pursue her own education, which led to Lesa eventually gaining a PhD.

Lesa, wanted to do something to honour her mother’s strong convictions about education and learning so decided to create an opportunity for other women arriving from war torn Ukraine as displaced people.

“I was very conscious of doing something meaningful and having the same attitude that my mother had. What can I offer that is long term and meaningful for someone without family here to help or support them?”

As the daughter of Ukrainian post-war migrant refugees, Lesa has been an active and passionate member of the Ukrainian community in Western Australia her whole life.

She commits time to hosting fundraising events for the Ukrainian community in Perth, and also small community initiatives. She is hosting a young female Ukrainian national who had to leave her husband and family behind seeking safety.

Through funding a scholarship for a displaced Ukrainian female, Lesa hopes to provide an opportunity for someone to either complete an undergraduate degree they could not finish or upskill themselves through a postgraduate degree — giving them a better chance to pursue a career they are passionate about.

She said her way of giving back, after her own fortunate upbringing and meaningful education, is to provide one person with an opportunity that will help them kick-start a new life. She also hopes the scholarship will inspire the recipient to make a difference in the wider community.

“It’s a gift, but it’s a gift to someone who shows a strength of character and a future dream of what they can do, not for themselves, but for others and this amazing country they live in too,” she said.

She also hopes it will inspire other academics to consider giving back, especially to communities and people that need opportunities to grow and benefit.

The scholarship will not only help a Ukrainian woman in need but also honour her mother and Lesa’s personal outlook on life.

“You do something when you can, you pay it forward,” she said.