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!
A girl from Chernihiv moved to the village to create her own animal shelter!
From the photos, an incredibly beautiful amazon gazes out – alongside a sleek, elegant horse. Each picture is not just an aesthetic frame, but a testament to love and care, as Marharyta Hrytsyk from Chernihiv pours her soul into rescuing animals and caring for them!
At 19, she left her job at a horse theater in Kyiv, Ukraine, and, after selling her apartment in Chernihiv, Ukraine, she moved to the small village of Ryabtsi near Chernihiv with her mother and her beloved. There, through her efforts, not just a farm but an animal shelter for rescued animals was established! Today, its residents include 7 horses, 4 cows and a bull, 8 calves, 11 dogs, 16 cats, a pig, and some poultry.
“Behind the scenes” of each beautiful photograph is daily, hard, and grueling work,” laughs Marharyta. “Our day starts at 5:30 am – heading to the horses and cows in their pens. I prepare their breakfast – crush grain, try to delight everyone with various treats. Then – milking, next, we need to take the horses and cows to the pasture, some of our charges – old or injured, stay in the pens, they need special care; and then I start processing milk and making cheese. We don’t have machinery, Vlad and I take care of all our animals by ourselves, together – mowing grass, carting hay with wheelbarrows, removing manure, taking care of and training the horses… After last year’s siege of Chernihiv, our barn where we keep the animals was heavily damaged and we are still trying to repair the damage – something always needs patching up, fixing up, in short, there’s always work on the farm!”
Helping Animals: Born from Childhood!
“How did it all start? We all come from childhood,” Marharyta recounts. “That’s where my love for animals comes from, this desire to save, shelter, and help… I grew up with this love for animals – in our ordinary city apartment, we had cats and dogs picked up from the street, and their numbers kept growing. We also had hedgehogs and even birds! I looked for ways to help animals – and I’m happy that my mom inspired and supported me in this.
Since childhood, I dreamed of having many animals at home, and my biggest dream was to have my own horse. These incredibly beautiful and graceful creatures – kind, gentle, and soul-soothing – simply enchanted me! We lived near the central park of culture and leisure, where there were always horses and ponies, and I would go there to ride and dream that one day I would have my own horse to care for… The owner of the local horse club couldn’t help but notice my enthusiasm and allowed me to come to their stables – so as a child, from the age of 8, I started going to the horse club, where I helped with the care, observed the animals, communicated with them, and learned to ride,” Marharyta recalls.
Even before the war, I had more than fifteen “tails” under my care – I took care of them, fed, treated, sterilized, and found homes for them… The neighbors didn’t understand, saying, “Don’t you have anything better to spend your money on?”, “Why are you doing this? You’re just encouraging them.” But did I encourage them? These animals are here because of someone’s indifference and irresponsibility.
But I’m doing what I feel I must. Saving animals is my soul, my heart, and I want to help. When I see homeless animals, I can’t look away because I understand, if not me – then who? Our neighborhood cats in the basement have an “all-inclusive” setup: bowls of water and benches covered with fur coats, for the dogs – kennels in the yard. Every morning and evening, I visit them, feed and clean up… And when the full-scale war began, the number of animals under my care multiplied.
However, realizing my dream of having my own horse took a very long time: it requires significant funds and even greater responsibility. To keep an animal, you must understand that you’ll have to pay for stable services, veterinarian and farrier services, buy feed, and provide proper care – so buying a horse is a very serious step that should be approached with responsibility. But I was so “on fire” with this idea that my mom understood it was not just a childish whim – it was a life’s mission, and when a foal was born in the horse club, we bought it. So, at 13, I got my first foal. My happiness was boundless! I took care of my Perry – that’s what I named the filly, learned, trained, and three-four years later, I made it into the horse theater “Park Kyivska Rus” in Kyiv. They offered me a job as a trainer – and there I worked for two years. It was there that I met my other half – Vlad, with whom our shared love for horses brought us together, and now we run the farm together.
Animal Shelter for Rescued Animals!
How did the decision to move to a village in the Chernihiv region and set up a horse farm come about? “My mom and I had long thought about swapping our apartment for a house, as in our regular city apartment, we had taken in eight cats and two dogs,” Marharyta shares. “I went to Kyiv, and for my mom, who worked in a café from noon to 2 a.m., it was very difficult to take care of our ‘furry’ brethren. But since we also wanted our horse to live with us, we looked for a cottage in the surrounding villages. That’s how we settled in the cozy village of Ryabtsi, Ukraine. Since horses cannot live alone and always need company, to Perry’s company, we rescued a foal from the slaughterhouse, and moved to the new household with two horses – my Perry and the rescued Grant. From there, our animal sanctuary began – and things just snowballed…
It seemed like the animals in need of rescue found us themselves – within a few months, our new home also became a haven for three storks saved from demise, seven dogs, eleven cats, five horses, and an eagle! I can’t walk by an animal in need without helping!
Each of our residents has its own tragic story: dogs and cats mistreated or abandoned by their previous owners due to disabilities; birds injured or shot by poachers; horses that looked like skin-stretched skeletons at the time we rescued them from the slaughterhouse… It’s heart-wrenching to hear the story of a mare nicknamed Milady, who carried adults and children as long as she could, and when she could no more, her former owners locked her up for two weeks without water or food.
Planning to send the weakened animal to be slaughtered, we instead purchased and took her in… There are many such stories: Umka, Shadow, Tina, Danya, whom we saved from the butcher after a failed castration – the list of rescued animals goes on and on…
And we realized that we wanted to create a sanctuary for animals – for their rescue and care.
Moreover, since my time working in a horse club, I knew many horse owners who often started bringing their horses to us for rearing and care. So our herd kept growing, and we took it upon ourselves to build a stable for the rescued animals. We built it entirely with our own hands – it took a long time, but we’re happy we managed. And once the farm was established, we continued to rescue horses that negligent owners were about to send to slaughter – at one point, we had over twenty rescued horses!
Milk Rivers and Cheese Shores…
We had horses we bought out, rescued, and rehomed – we don’t profit from the horses we save; we just want to give them a better life. Maintaining the sanctuary was costing us a lot, so we started looking for ways to earn money for the animals’ needs. We bought a cow to keep the horses company, then another, and started producing dairy and making cheese. Initially, I made cheese just for us, but then friends and acquaintances tried it, insisted it was incredibly delicious, and urged us to market our products – and so we did! I remember funny incidents when we brought our cheese and milk to the market in Chernihiv, and people didn’t believe we weren’t resellers but were selling our own farm-produced goods – saying, “You’re so young, how can you work on a farm? The youth today don’t do that…”
And here I am, on the farm since I was 19, now going on six years!
We want to show everyone that what we’re doing is possible and anyone can do it if they put in the effort. Vlad and I simply do what we love; we want to ensure that old and frail animals, which have worked for people for years, aren’t sent to slaughter, and we aim to develop Ukrainian animal husbandry – so that adults and children can enjoy natural and fresh cheese and milk, not something imported from who-knows-where.
I spent a lot of time researching how to make cheese, experimenting, and preparing various types – there are many nuances and subtleties in this craft, from how balanced the cows’ diet must be to the specific temperature and humidity conditions required for cheese making.
Now, I’ve developed my own, one might say, proprietary cheese-making technology – we have parmesan, cheddar, and maasdam. Many enjoy my “coffee cheese”: the curd is soaked in natural ground brewed coffee, acquiring a beautiful milk cocoa shade and a subtle coffee flavor. In the morning, with a cup of coffee – it’s just right! I also make lavender cheese – it has an unforgettable bright appearance and flavor, offering something for both the gourmet and the lover of traditional cheeses!
Chasing Explosion-Frightened Horses... on a Motorcycle!
The money earned from our “dairy business” goes towards medicines, vitamins, and feed for the animals – as our farm and the animals on it suffered greatly during the full-scale Russian invasion.
When the war came right to our doorstep, we didn’t even consider leaving – but what about the animals? Our home is at the beginning of the village – it was a major hub of activity, with heavy shooting… My heart ached for the horses – they were in the pen because you can’t bring them all inside the house or basement…
When a tank exploded near the stable – its turret fell near the fences with the horses, and they, frightened, broke through the enclosures and ran away – that was the most terrifying thing… We were so worried about them, afraid they’d get hurt, that we set out on motorcycles under unceasing shelling to look for them – at that moment, we probably didn’t even understand the full danger,” Marharyta shares her memories of the ordeal.
“What we did was pretty reckless, but we had no other choice, as these horses are our whole life… We put all our efforts, all our soul into these animals, and it was incredibly painful to watch everything being destroyed by the occupiers…
When our horses returned a few days later, we were beside ourselves with happiness! However, some animals couldn’t handle the stress: all the rabbits died – their hearts just couldn’t take the constant shelling and stress. Many animals were wounded, all of them had lost a lot of weight… The barn where we kept the animals was damaged, the foundation cracked, the roof suffered greatly, windows were blown out… As of today, unfortunately, we only have three of our own horses left – we had to sell or rehome most of the animals because we realized we couldn’t maintain such a large number of charges anymore, so we kept only the sick animals, who are unwanted by anyone but us. We had to rebuild by ourselves… We don’t own any land or machinery, and the hardest part in our situation now is buying feed – we need 60 tons of hay a year, and a ton costs 4,000 – it’s a huge amount of money, and we have nowhere to get it from… Last year, volunteers helped us a lot with this, but now we simply dare not ask for help, understanding that people have a lot of troubles and other requests. Our sales volumes have dropped significantly for obvious reasons, besides, no matter how hard it is, we always try to contribute to charity, we donate part of our production to our boys at the front from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and help the military as much as we can – because we want to do our part in our future Victory.
We wish the state would support beginning farmers a bit more – we hope that will be the case in time. We always tried to help everyone in need – and now we find ourselves in such a situation… And although it’s tough with the maintenance and treatment of the animals, their love and gratitude are priceless!
