Szilagyi wins service award from Ukraine for SARA work

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Szilagyi, founder and Director of Sharing America’s Resources Abroad (SARA), the Ohio Conference medical mission, received an "Esteemed Award" from President Yushcenko of Ukraine in recognition of Rev. Szilagyi’s humanitarian contributions to Transcarpathia, Ukraine.

The award was presented by Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Oleh Shamsur, at a ceremony at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, DC on July 8, 2008.

Jean and Stephen Szilagyi

SARA has for a number of years supplied medical equipment and expertise to Ukraine. The program also helps physicians from Ukraine come to the United States to receive additional medical and surgical training so that they may provide improved health care in hospitals in Ukraine.

In addition, SARA has arranged for several Ukrainian children to travel to the U.S. for surgery, such as scoliosis correction, not available in Ukraine. Rev. Szilagyi has been very active in helping to establish long-term cooperation between medical institutions in the two countries.

Born to Hungarian parents in the Transcarpathian area of Eastern Europe, Rev. Szilagyi came to the United States in 1952 and became a naturalized citizen while serving in the US Army in Berlin.