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!
Weaving Victory!
They are the ones weaving wings… “Wings” for guardian angels!
“Our military personnel are our guardian angels, and we weave these wings to cover and hide their equipment and trenches, their lives from the enemy,” says Chernihiv volunteer Maryna Lysenko. She, along with the incredible and tireless “camouflage fairies” from the Volunteer Association “Because We Can,” has been weaving camouflage nets for the front for over a year!
Seven (with a very long tail) thousand meters of camouflage fabric! Thirty kilograms of paint, over two and a half tons of painted fabric. And – nearly 250 camouflage nets have been sent to the front and right now, as you read these lines, are protecting the equipment and lives of Ukrainian defenders!
Camouflage Nets Save Lives!
“Why do we do this? Because We Can and … Because We Must!” Marina says with a smile, talking about weaving the nets. “I won’t even start to explain how crucial and necessary it is, I’ll just say that the requests from the military for camouflage nets are constant, always! I think that speaks for itself… The nets are lives and equipment saved.
All the camouflage nets – the “wings” for our defenders – immediately go where they are most needed, to the “hot” spots in the East and South of Ukraine. When you understand that our collective effort helps not just to protect equipment but also the lives and health of our defenders, I believe that is the best motivation!
How did it all begin? Last spring, my husband and I took on covering the operational needs of our defenders – buying necessary optics, uniforms, and then we were asked to weave one net. My husband – an engineering designer, used to thinking big, immediately said: “Why only one? We have a private house, let’s build a frame, we’ll weave, and let everyone who wants to come and weave nets with us…
Said and done: we made a frame and things took off from there! We wove “as a family business” – my husband and I, along with our two kids, cut and dyed the fabrics (dyeing remained our prerogative – and a huge thanks to our son, who helped us with dyeing all summer!). At first, we cut various clothes collected from here and there into strips, but that wasn’t always convenient and we wanted to do it better, so now we’ve switched to bed linen, which we dye with special paint in camouflage colors. It’s a very time-consuming and labor-intensive task, so we thank everyone who helps us. Thank you to my beloved for the help and support, as well as all the friends and concerned people who started coming to weave nets with us!
Everyone Weaves!
Last year, we were weaving camouflage nets in our “home office,” but now we have an office space, and the number of frames for weaving nets has increased. Today, both experienced “spiders” and those who have recently joined the weaving are here: diverse in age and professions, yet united by a common goal – to help!
Thank you to everyone who has been with us this year, who joined and helped, who cut, dyed, wove, and supported us with donations! A huge thank you to Yulia Halyuza, who now leads this process! Recently, when we put out a call asking for help with net weaving, more than twenty people gathered – adults and children worked in two rooms, the hallway, and even outside.
We wove nets, cut strips, tied the bases for the nets, unraveled burlap for scarecrows. Thanks to everyone – even half an hour of such work a day makes a difference – when we are united and cohesive!
Some come on weekends, some during lunch breaks or on holidays. Sometimes, people call me – “I’m just leaving work, I have a few hours, can I come for the nets”… If someone cannot join the “Because We Can” community work for various reasons, everyone can weave nets! It’s such a unifying task – it “binds” us all together!
Inspired actions attract incredibly inspired people: even three-year-old and five-year-old kids weave nets with us, watching this brings tears to your eyes… I’m happy that such people exist. Every person, with their knot, with their strip, weaves their contribution into our Victory!
Every Knot for Victory!
“The weaving of nets involves many important technical nuances,” explains Maryna. “There are different weaving techniques, color schemes to consider, and the net needs to be strong but not too heavy, and most importantly – it must effectively conceal.
We’ve mastered this craft “with distinction!” We weave camouflage nets of various sizes: some for trenches, others for equipment – for tanks, artillery, and vehicles. We’ve now added ‘scarecrows’ for the military to our arsenal – a challenging, time-consuming, meticulous task, but when Our Boys ask – we do everything for them!
I believe it’s our duty now to help, and we do our small part, putting our soul and effort into it. I live by the motto – “Each of us now must do everything we can, just a little bit more!”
Requests from the military are constant. We always need more “hands.” It’s painful when we sometimes can’t fulfill military orders for nets for months because we lack fabric, funds for paint, or free hands for weaving… We cannot afford to “tire” or “burn out” here in the rear while our soldiers at the front pay a terrible price. It’s not just the military that needs camouflage nets; it’s us, the civilians, who need our soldiers to have them!
They repay us with each new day we wake up in our homes! I always ask everyone: come, help, join in weaving nets and contribute to our Victory!”
From thread to thread, into this volunteer-crafted net, delicate children’s fingers, aged hands, gentle women’s and roughened men’s hands from hard work are woven… Every strip, every knot, is made with hope and love! Someone donates their shirt, another contributes funds for fabric and paint, while others help by coming to weave nets… It seems that today, our entire Ukraine is like a vast canvas, where everyone who cares weaves their contribution into our collective Victory!
