Over the 15 years of Ukrainian independence, the United States has appointed a number of ambassadors to Ukraine. However, I would contend that some unofficial ambassadors have done the most good and ultimately will be the most fondly remembered.
One of those ambassadors that you may never have heard about is named Basil Tarasko, a member of the Ukrainian Diaspora who is a fanatic about kids and baseball.
For many years, Tarasko has collected and stored donated baseball and softball equipment in his garage in Bayside, New York to help provide equipment for developing a Little League (LL) program in Ukraine.
The donated equipment has come from LL communities in California, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York City area, Long Island, Upstate New York and Little League Baseball, Inc.
Not only has he collected and managed to ship the equipment, all from donated sources, he has personally made many trips to Ukraine to assist by acting as administrator of the new Little League system and the setting up of teams, particularly in orphanages.
Thanks to Tarasko and his devoted volunteer helpers, baseball has found a niche and is becoming more widely accepted.
With the help of former Ambassador John Herbst, who was also a bit of a baseball fanatic, ways have been found to take care of some of the very expensive shipping costs to bring more of the donated equipment to Ukraine.
Baseball is still a rather exotic sport for Ukraine but this year the seventh annual Ukraine Little League Baseball Championship was held in Kyiv, clearly indicating that all the time and efforts are beginning to pay off.
There is still equipment arriving and available, and there is a continuing need for ex-pat and Ukrainian volunteers to help set up new teams and leagues.
In the years ahead, long after most American and other ambassadors to Ukraine are long forgotten, thousands of young people are likely be playing baseball all over Ukraine. In addition to a new sport, they will learn cooperation, teamwork and fair play, all of which will be a living memorial to Basil Tarasko, one member of the Ukrainian Diaspora who has probably made more difference than some of the most expensive government programs.
If you'd like to know more about Little League in Ukraine, how it works and how you could help, go to the following link: http://www.ukrainebaseball.org/
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