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!
The Story of a Jack-of-All-Trades… With One Hand
He wakes up at dawn – when the city is still asleep, puts on his usual lime-green vest, grabs his modest set of tools, and heads out to sweep the streets. Working a shift as a janitor: sweeping up and collecting leaves, tidying up flowerbeds, gathering trash, and later, at home, after a short rest, preparing lunch and dinner, baking tasty pies, and even canning! All these tasks might seem simple and routine, but for 58-year-old Viktor Holub, they are small daily feats. Because Viktor cleans, cooks, and even makes dumplings… with one hand.
“There were funny situations – I’m standing there, sweeping, and then a lady comes up and says:
‘Excuse me, my neighbor told me that our janitor works with one hand, I didn’t believe her, so I thought I’d come and see for myself…'”.
“It’s not easy to get used to such ‘intense’ attention,” laughs Mr. Viktor, “but it’s nice when people come up, thank me for the cleanliness… Some admire and praise, saying, well done. Others, on the contrary, grimace, implying, he should rather stay at home, what can he accomplish with one hand… I don’t ask for any special treatment, I do my job just like everyone else. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone, that’s why I work…
Giving up, surrendering — that’s the easiest thing to do,” he says. “And the more you start feeling sorry for yourself, the harder it is to deal with adversity. Nowadays, many of our soldiers, both boys and girls, have the same kind of trouble I do… I want my example to show that you must do not give up – under any circumstances! You need to live and be happy, no matter what!”.
The Day That Split Life into "Before" and "After"
Mr. Viktor is originally from the village of Karpilivka, located in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. He worked there in agriculture, he shares, and later became a handyman and foreman in a construction crew. Until one day divided his life into “before” and “after”… He still remembers the exact date of the tragedy – August 8, 1996.
“We were working with the crew, fixing a roof on a five-story building, I reached for some materials, miscalculated slightly, and carelessly ‘flew’ off from there… 14 days in a coma, in the ICU – the injuries were so severe that the doctors virtually gave no chance for my survival. They told my mom: ‘Go home, we will call you when to collect the body…’ But I took it – and survived! However, my right arm had to be completely amputated.
I was 31 years old then. A young man, you might say, and such a misfortune… I was working as a builder, everyone said ‘master golden hands,’ and here I am – without a right hand, what to do? It was hard for me to recover, oh, so hard…
I couldn’t dress or put on shoes by myself, literally nothing. I saw no point in living anymore. I confess – there were times when I wanted to end my life, but it didn’t work out, apparently, fate was signaling me – you need to live! And I started to pull myself together…
I remember, someone brought a female rabbit to my mom, and she tells me – go to the neighbor, ask him to make a cage for it… I thought, by the time that neighbor comes, by the time he makes it, let me figure something out myself – and I got to work, even if with one hand. And I got so involved, worked so hard, that by the evening I had made the cage myself. It turned out a bit crooked, but for me, it was the most precious in the world!
I saw, I felt that I could still do something – and it cleared up for me, as if the sun came out! I wanted to do more things, to live, you understand, I wanted to live again… I decided – not to give up, no matter what!”.
Do Not Give Up, Never Back Down
“For the first two years afterwards, I didn’t work anywhere. I had a second-degree disability, and no one would take me with it. They’d tell me straight to my face – what are you going to do with one hand? But then I decided – no, I won’t give up, I’ll do something myself! I registered as an entrepreneur, opened a store, bought a scooter, learned to ride it – and off I went! Five years after the tragedy, I got married – met my future wife at the bus station in Kyiv, Ukraine, invited her for a coffee, and for 19 years we’ve been drinking that coffee together,” he laughs. “Bought a house in Chernihiv region, in a village where my wife’s mother lived…
By that time, I could fully take care of everything even with one hand. I had become so adept that I hardly noticed anything was missing. I joked that, well, what work? I can do everything single-handedly,” he laughs. “I remember needing to seal some plum preserves while my wife was at work. I walked around that jar, thinking and pondering… and I managed to seal it properly after all! When my wife came home, she asked, ‘Did you call the neighbor over to help?’ And I told her – no, I managed on my own. After that, I found myself a canning key that was comfortable for me to use, and I even did all the canning myself. And cooking something up – that was easy for me! My wife worked every other day at the military unit, so I always tried to make something tasty before she came home: bake some pies or even make dumplings.
I tried them out just out of curiosity – to see if I could do it, if I’d ‘nail it.’ My wife was a chef, so I didn’t want to lag behind, wanted to show that I wasn’t half bad either,” he laughs.
“I was scared of peeling potatoes for a long time – thought I couldn’t do it, but I mastered that ‘complexity’ too. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way! That’s how we lived on… But then life cracked again.
In 2020, my wife passed away – succumbed to cancer… Her son, my stepson, had died six months before. I was left completely alone – without my wife, I didn’t know how to go on. Just before the full-scale invasion, I was visiting my daughter-in-law in Kyiv, and on February 24, I was returning from her place to Chernihiv. In Nizhyn, Ukraine, our train was stopped, and the territorial defense guys transferred us to buses, brought us to a gymnasium of one of the schools in Nizhyn, where we lived for a good two weeks – they helped us with food and all necessities. I could never have imagined facing something like this in my old age – there were moments when I was very scared… My heart ached for wounded Chernihiv, which was bombarded daily, for all the people, for our defenders who were fighting for each new day in that hell…”.
Moving from Chernihiv to Chernivtsi Because of the War
“When three bombs fell close to us, and the explosion blew out the doors and windows of the building we were in – it was fortunate that we were all in the shelter at the time… At the local Adventist church, the pastor told us that an evacuation was being prepared – there were options to go to Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, or to Poland. I chose Chernivtsi – somehow my heart led me there, and soon after, I moved… The first few weeks we lived in a dormitory, but then I decided I wanted to be useful, to help – and for that, I needed a job…
I started looking, and the local housing office offered me a job as a janitor. They saw that I had one arm and suggested, why don’t you just take care of the flower beds, but I said – no, I will do the same work as everyone else. My partner and I – he’s a displaced person from Sloviansk, Ukraine – took on a few streets, and got to work. We worked so well together that we even took on another area! Working – and it fills my soul with joy, and when people say a kind word, praise that it’s clean and beautiful, that’s the best thanks!
I thought I was going to Chernivtsi for a month or two, but I’ve been living here for… a year and eight months! I fell in love with this city, and it gave me… a new love! Every evening after work, I would go for walks near the dormitory where we lived – and during these walks, I noticed a beautiful lady, but I was too shy to approach her.
But then I got up the courage, approached her, offered to have coffee together, and we started talking – and I found my soulmate!
Now Irina and I are together, and I am very grateful to God and fate… She knits – sends some warm socks to our boys, and in the meantime, I’ve baked her an apple pie, still fragrant throughout the house… Together, life is brighter for us both.
That’s my life – all laid out for you… If you want to live, take fate into your own hands! I repeat the same to many of our boys, who lose their arms and legs in the war… I always say – you must live! Life doesn’t end with trauma or disability. Yes, to despair, to give up – that’s very easy… I, too, must admit, had such a period right after my injury – when drinking buddies appeared, when life was rapidly going downhill. Luckily, I realized I didn’t want to live like that – managed to stop and take control… Here I am talking to you – and my voice trembles as if I’m reliving it all again… The main thing is not to give up, not to allow despair, not to back down, not to say “I can’t”. I can do anything, I will live! Repeat these words to yourself, repeat them to those who need them most right now – and everything will be alright!”.
