I am the author of the Goodacity blog, a journalist, and a translator. For 16 years, I have worked in professional journalism, contributing to regional and national publications, both in print and online media. I have written reports, conducted interviews, reviews, articles on cultural, social, and charitable topics, as well as materials in the style of "solution journalism" and communication materials.
My focus is on creating interesting and exclusive content. Journalism, to me, is primarily about human stories, to which I always find the key, empathize with the people I write about, and love all my heroes. Journalism, to me, means telling people about what truly matters to them, informing and inspiring them. It is not just a job, but a way of life, just like for all those who dream, create, and are inspired by it.
So, if you are looking for stories that inspire and motivate, that instill faith and help find meaning while believing in goodness, read my stories on the Goodacity website.
I am a manager of cultural affairs and a project manager with over 14 years of experience at United Thinkers. I have participated in the organization of numerous successful social and charitable projects and have implemented informational campaigns and communication cases.
As a marketing manager, I have been involved in organizing marketing and sociological research, working with media and partners, developing advertising and marketing strategies, as well as planning and implementing advertising campaigns.
I believe in the power of goodness and I am happy that as part of the Goodacity project, I can contribute to its expansion. I believe in the power of words and in the fact that communication can help make the world a better place. I know how, where and when to speak in order to be heard. And when you are heard, you can change the world!
Animal Rescue: A Little Help Is Better Than a Lot of Sympathy!
This story isn’t just about the rescue of animals and the kind heart of a woman from Chernihiv, Tetiana Ulm, who saves stray animals. It’s about how people animal rescue , and in return, those animals save their caring humans!
“Even as a child, I told myself that when I grew up, I would set up a shelter for cats and dogs and gather all those in need of help,” shares Ms. Tetiana. “And I am slowly making this dream a reality… You know, as they say: a little help is better than a lot of sympathy. In my case, it all started with situations where you just can’t walk past a poor ‘fluffy’ on the street.”
If Not Me, Then Who?
“I’m originally from Horlivka in Donetsk, Ukraine,” the woman says. “I moved to Chernihiv, Ukraine, over fifteen years ago when my daughter in Horlivka started having health issues. And once we settled here, my childhood dream resurfaced: first came one cat, then another and another… Seeing so many stray animals on the streets, I started feeding and treating them, even my daughter and husband helped me… When, after six months, I saw how a dog we had cared for and fed transformed from a little unfortunate ‘waif’ into a big, beautiful dog, I was amazed, overwhelmed with emotions!
So, Rocky became our new family member – sadly, he had serious health issues and only lived for a few years, but I realized that I was able to give him those years filled with love and care…
Even before the war, I had over fifteen ‘tails’ under my care – caring for, feeding, treating, sterilizing, finding homes for them… Neighbors didn’t understand, saying: ‘Don’t you have anything better to spend your money on?’, ‘Why are you doing this? You’ve brought them all here.’ But did I bring them here? It’s people who abandon them – these animals are here because of someone’s indifference and irresponsibility.
And I’m doing what I should be doing. Animal rescue is my soul, my heart, and I want to help. When I see stray animals, I can’t just ignore them because I know, if not me, then who? Our courtyard cats have an ‘all-inclusive’ setup in the basement: bowls of water, benches covered with furs, and for the dogs – kennels in the yard.
Every morning and evening, I visit them, feed and clean up… And when the full-scale war started, the number of animals under my care increased several times.
We stayed at home during the siege of Chernihiv, didn’t leave. My parents live nearby – they fled Horlivka under shelling in ’14, escaping from Russian occupiers, and last year, the war caught up with them here too… Mom can barely walk – she uses a walker, dad had cancer surgery, and we couldn’t abandon our ‘tails’ – so we didn’t leave… Both of my brothers went to fight, and we took on helping however we could.”
Animal Rescue: Under the Care of 40 "Tails"
“We live in Bobrovytsia, Chernihiv, Ukraine. Our district was relentlessly shelled, so many homes around us were destroyed – ours miraculously survived, though the explosion wave blew out the windows – we slept huddled with our ‘tails’ to keep from freezing… From our nine-story building, almost all the residents left – only we stayed,” recalls Ms. Tetiana. “We picked up an injured fox terrier – nursed him back to health… Some of the animals came to us wounded, others burnt – and now, I have under my care not less than 40 fluffies!
My husband and I delivered bread and water to people living nearby in the private sector of Bobrovytsia, fed abandoned animals – not just cats and dogs, but also chickens, rabbits, and even horses and cows! In short, whoever came, we fed,” laughs Ms. Tetiana. “We saved animals whose owners had evacuated – and then, when they returned, we gave them back. We had cows in the yard, horses waited out the shelling with us, we even had a chicken living in the stairwell for a while… She was a bit burnt by fire but strutted through the courtyard so dignifiedly, we fed her. Then, when humanitarian aid came, everyone rushed to take her photo – she became a chicken photo-star)) We have a dog in our yard – Zhulya – she’s usually very jealous when someone tries to eat from her plate, but then she allowed this chicken to eat from her plate, didn’t chase her away… Even the animals felt that such a calamity was around us and we needed to band together, help each other.
There was enough love and care for all, and for animal rescue – you know, I think that thanks to them, we managed to survive that most terrible spring of our lives. There was no time or way to be afraid of the shelling, because we knew we had to help our parents, look after a bedridden paralyzed neighbor, feed the animals, help whoever and however we could… That’s what saved us. Helping others, we saved ourselves. People often ask me if we were afraid? Yes, we were – but I didn’t dwell on it – because I knew that if I didn’t go out under the shelling to feed them, who would? There were lonely grandmothers without food, without water – my husband rode his bicycle under shelling from Bobrovytsia to the polytechnic for bread, to distribute it to people who remained in our district… But we survived and endured.
Before the war, when I went to work, I bought high-quality, not cheap feeds for all my ‘fluffies’, treated them at my own expense, now it has become much more difficult – our enterprise’s head died in the war, we lost our jobs… A week takes 14 kilograms of feed for the ‘tails’ – for the whole ‘brotherhood’, and that’s besides the porridge I cook for them, and the meat treats I try to spoil them with. So, I’m very thankful to all the caring people who help with the feed, including the kind folks at Goodacity!
The world is not without good people! Today, we all help each other: people to their four-legged friends, philanthropists to animal volunteers, whose abilities are far from limitless, and the animals we save with our collective efforts help us all heal the wounds of war… Even in times of war trials, people should not lose the light spirit within themselves. By caring for someone, we maintain within ourselves this spirit of love and empathy. With that spirit – we will overcome!”.
Kitty Hilza Was Brought from the Front by My Brother!
“Love for animals is a family thing,” laughs the woman. “My daughter has three cats at home, and my brother also brought a kitten rescued from shelling at the front to Chernihiv. Hilza, the little one, now lives with him at home… People ask me how I became like this, and I just say – I live by it… For me, rescuing animals, loving them – it’s a ‘built-in’ basic option – like eating, drinking, breathing… When I started helping stray animals, people looked at me and others like me as if we were odd. Today, I am happy to meet an increasing number of like-minded people and understand that there are many of us in this field.
And when I see our defenders holding kittens and puppies, I believe that Ukraine will win! Because we save animals to remain human! As the classic said, we are responsible for those we have tamed… I remember every rescued ‘tail’ that passed through my hands, we keep in touch with the owners of the rehomed animals. We exchange photos and news from their lives, rejoice when our ‘wards’ are doing well, and when they are sick – then we all fight together for the rescue of animals! Kindness unites!
There’s one story from last spring that really stuck with me and touched me… In our district lived a man with a disability, he was missing a leg, and lived more than modestly…
And then an old dog, beaten by life, attached herself to him – her owner had died, and this man, Ivan, took care of her. When Chernihiv was shelled daily, Ivan and Kuzya sat with us in the basement, and when we offered him help, he modestly asked – maybe just something for the dog and the cats to eat, I’ll get by somehow…
His house was bombed, volunteers took on evacuating him, but Ivan refused to go without Kuzya! We got Kuzya a vet passport, looked for everything needed, and now the ‘tail’ and its owner are in the Netherlands, Ivan got a prosthetic leg there… If a person, even in the greatest difficulty, can think and care for others, then they are truly – a Person!”.
