ABSTRACT
Using data from a study of older refugees, this chapter explores the meaning of generativity among two groups of elders. The first group feels at a loss in identifying something to pass on to future generations; the second group is proud of their heritage and has a clear sense of what they can teach the young. The chapter examines access and barriers to health and social services in four refugee communities: Vietnamese and Cambodian, and Soviet Jewish and Soviet Ukrainian. The generation that migrated after the war was on the whole both religious and nationalistic. Many of the most prominent Ukrainian institutions in the United States were either founded by or strengthened by this generation of migrants. The Ukrainian elders can continue as contributing members of their families, giving them a sense not only of love but of respect, and most importantly knowledge that despite their infirmities and ignorance of their new cultural surroundings, they are needed.
