From NYU to Razom: Maryna Prykhodko’s Relentless Pursuit for Ukrainian Justice and Advocacy
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Maryna Prykhodko has always had a strong sense of justice. After moving to the United States, she’s been constantly on the lookout for opportunities to give back and commune together with others to fight for what she thinks is right. Maryna began her higher education journey at New York University in 2013, writing for NYU Local, a news blog run by university students. Specifically, she translated Ukrainian posts on the beginnings of the Revolution of Dignity to English, aiming to inform her fellow students about the social uprising and protesting occurring in Kyiv. She connected with Ukrainians living in NYC through parallel protesting — the process of matching public demonstrations taking place in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Searching abroad for more opportunities, Maryna continued to expand her connections and knowledge about Ukraine’s political context. She pursued an internship at the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Berlin, Germany and worked for the think tank to Germany’s Green Party. There, she researched Ukraine’s economy in the context of the energy sector. After completing her bachelor’s degree in Politics, Rights, and Development, she entered a dual BA/MA program in 2016 specializing in international relations.
The Constituents of Razom in front of Capitol Building
Before graduating, Maryna joined an upstanding organization coined Razom for Ukraine in 2014. This group was formed in order to bring about a successful Ukraine by “creat[ing] spaces where people meet, partner, and work together to unlock the potential of Ukraine” — especially focusing on supporting Ukraine through financial and humanitarian efforts. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Razom completed incredible work involving fundraising to buy personal protective equipment for Ukrainian hospitals and clinics. Once the news broke out of the February 24th invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Razom immediately opened up their funds and mobilized to form a ground team in Ukraine. The organization opened a warehouse and hired a team of delivery drivers to transport goods and provide aid to the frontlines as well as to families escaping the war. Overnight, the organization experienced 100x its ordinary growth. Razom was incredibly well organized and made donating easy and accessible, offering options through Paypal, Zelle, bank accounts, and fundraising pages. With their remarkable efforts, Razom raised $20 million just in the first month following the invasion. Since then, they have raised over $100 million!
Participants of Razom’s mental health conference in Ukraine
Maryna joined Razom’s board of directors in 2019, and following the initial stages of the Russian full–scale invasion, she resigned from the board to take an active leadership role, leading external and internal communication for the organization. In April 2022, she began forming the Razom Advocacy team, which is one of the concentration areas of Razom: Relief, Health, Heroes, and Advocacy. Maryna also had the opportunity to work with Congress, as her team coordinated a congregation of grassroots organizations supporting Ukraine and diplomatic missions to the country. With a team of over 2,000 constituents from all over the United States, Maryna’s team pushed for legislative action in the form of: military aid and distribution of weapons (ATACMs and F-16s) and armored vehicles; security guarantees for Ukraine (including a realistic pathway to Ukraine’s integration into NATO); and the condemnation of the deportation of children from Ukraine — a violation of the UN Genocide Convention. At the end of 2023, Maryna became the Director for Program Development and Organization Growth, working behind the scenes to help with sustaining and continuing the work of the organization.
Razom advocacy team meets with NYC Mayor Adams & Councilwoman Rivera to show support for Ukraine
To Maryna, one of the most effective strategies in showing support for the people affected by this war includes contacting local representatives in Congress to signal the importance of humanitarian action in Ukraine. Similar to other policies which were created out of widespread support from the American public, Maryna wants our readers to remember that our voices are extremely influential to our representatives. Additionally, she says maintaining attention on Ukraine is also crucial. This can be accomplished by just a simple “like” or “share” on social media content from Ukrainian creators, platforms, and news. We at Humanitarian Voices join Maryna in reminding you, our reader, of the power in your voice!