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 School as a Symbol of Resistance!
This is the story of a teacher. A teacher who taught his students (and not only them!) the most important life lesson: a lesson in incredible human dignity, courage, and strength. Our interlocutor is the principal of a school in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, which last spring found itself under Russian occupation. It’s the school where, throughout the terrifying time of occupation, the yellow-blue flag continued to fly, and the principal wasn’t afraid to confront the occupiers, looking them in the eye to ask about what matters. Even knowing that such bravery could come at a cost…
“It’s probably that ‘teacher’s’ streak in me,” smiles Oleh Vasylovych.
“Teachers are always those who care, and this concern extends to everything: civic stance, social life, all spheres. Education during the war is very important. If there are teachers in the village – there will always be ‘movement’ and something happening. As long as there is a school in the village, it lives…”
Living to Teach!
His story is about choosing to be strong and finding light even amidst darkness. Meet the principal of Pakulska Gymnasium in Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske Village Council, Ukraine, Oleg Datsyuk.
“I’ve been working in schools for 27 years,” shares Oleg Vasylovych. “Of those, I’ve been a principal for 24 years. As a boy in my class dreamed of various professions, I already knew I wanted to be a teacher. My homeroom teacher inspired me to study at Pryluky Pedagogical College, specializing in labor and drafting. The education, then the practice, working with children – I found it all to be very fulfilling, I really liked it. There’s something incredibly inspiring about teaching kids, seeing their eyes light up with interest! And when you later see the results of their learning – you understand that it was all worth it!
What stands out after so many years working in schools? It’s been varied, but never dull!” he laughs. “A classmate once told me, ‘My job at the factory, working with machines, is simpler. If something doesn’t work, I hit it, and it works again. But with your job – it’s not like that…’ I love my job – not just because it’s my job, but because it’s my calling. Our team is small but close-knit, and though we don’t have many students, they are all wonderful!
I’m often asked how to get kids interested in school, and I reply – our kids are already passionate about it… Education during the war is tough, but incredibly important. Last spring, due to the occupation, we were forced to take a break, then move to online learning, and when the kids finally could come back to school, they didn’t just walk, they ran! The joy was immense! There was no ‘I don’t want to go to school’ – the kids eagerly ran here, no one missed classes…
The kids realized how much they wanted to be in school and what it meant to them. Now, we both learn and volunteer – the kids collect plastic caps for prosthetics, write letters, knit nets, make trench candles. We even have a flag from the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade – they saw our patriotic events and the commander himself offered to send our students a signed flag. For the kids, this flag is the most precious relic, especially since almost every family in our village, including our students’, has someone defending our homeland. And now, everyone – adults and children alike – volunteers and helps with renewed vigor, because last spring, we all witnessed the horrors of occupation firsthand.”
No Lessons Today, The War Has Begun...
“Our morning on February 24 began with the announcement, ‘There will be no lessons today, the war has begun.’ Less than a month later, Russian tanks were driving through our village street… I live opposite the school and watched as ‘the horde’ approached. When the occupiers entered the village, they decided to set up camp in the school.
Our village is small, with fewer than a thousand people, but the school is a gem! Large, beautiful, modern, two-story! Well-maintained, with bright clean rooms, it houses a computer lab with modern laptops, plasma TVs in every classroom, and internet throughout…
One of the occupiers approached me and said, ‘You have a beautiful school, everything is there, let me show you mine…’ He pulled out his phone, showing me a photo of his school in some village in the Tula region. Looking at that school – well, it was a shed, with an outdoor toilet. I asked if they had any technology at their school: computers, TVs? ‘Nothing,’ he replied, ‘what technology, our windows are even made of wood, we heat with a stove, not like what you have.’ I told him, ‘Then what are you doing here?! Go home, build proper schools for yourselves…’.
You know, there’s a famous saying that wars are won not by generals but by school teachers – this speaks to the unique role of schools and teachers in shaping a nation. Where schools are not a priority, where there is no proper education – children do not grow up to be engineers, programmers, or doctors. They grow up to be occupiers…
What and how children are taught, those are the values they will hold and will fight for if needed. Hence our Heroes fight for our homeland and the peace of their families, while Russians come to steal a toilet and a doghouse…
You know what’s worse than the occupation of territory? The occupation of the mind. That’s why one of the first things Russians do in many occupied towns and villages is to remove Ukrainian books from schools and libraries. They know that knowledge is a weapon, sometimes more powerful than all the Grads and missiles combined. Every Ukrainian history book read reminds us of what we are fighting for and resisting against.
The occupiers stayed in our school’s gym, cafeteria, and library – I locked all other school premises to prevent them from destroying property and looting. I personally went through the school, collecting all the laptops from classrooms to hide them away.
I went to the school every day – accompanied by another teacher to water the plants, checking that everything was in its place. How painful, how hard it was to see my ‘baby,’ the school we furnished with so much love, in such a state – walked over by occupiers with their guns. 150 Russian soldiers, all armed, and there I was trying to talk them out of destroying books and school property.
You know, on the first day of the occupation, when Russian tanks rolled through the village, it felt surreal, like this couldn’t be happening to us. But when I felt the blow from Russian rifle butts, I realized, no, this is not a bad dream, this is reality, and it’s even worse…
When they came to my house in the first days, I asked them bluntly, ‘What are you doing here, what have you forgotten?’ Of course, the ‘liberators’ started their song about how they came to protect and save us. I said, ‘No need to protect, we are a free country and living well.’ But their brains are washed by propaganda, all repeating the same thing as if learned from a manual: ‘You’ve been bombing the people of Donetsk for eight years…’ Many truly believed they would be greeted with flowers here. But after a few days, when the ‘liberators’ saw that nobody was waiting for them, that everyone hated them and wanted them gone, they showed their true colors – terrorizing people and looting. With each passing day, the occupiers became more malicious and aggressive – searching for ‘spotters’ and committing atrocities.”
Education During the War – Our Contribution to the Future!
Our village was cut off from supplies for more than a month since the neighboring settlement, Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske, Ukraine, was occupied on February 26 or 27. It was impossible to get in or out; we were completely isolated. The stores ran out of food, and people nearly ran out of their provisions as well. By the end of the month, all reserves were depleted. We helped each other as best we could, grinding grain into flour, sifting it, and baking our own bread – that bread was worth its weight in gold… One of their officers offered me his ration, saying, ‘Take it, see our kindness.’ I refused, ‘I don’t need your ration. We had everything until you came…’
A few days later, that officer, along with his ‘brigade,’ came to my house – they beat me, turned my home upside down looking for explosives, shouting accusations that I was a ‘spotter.’
They retaliated against me for my stance because I had principledly refused to shake the hand of their commander the day before, refusing to bow to them…
There was no fear: I realized I could endure anything – both the cellar and the brutal beatings, because I knew the truth was on our side, and they were raging from powerlessness. And so it was: after some time, on the last day of March, the enemy fled…
The long and terrifying days of occupation. Days of horror. Yet, all those days, the yellow-blue flag flew over the school!
“The occupiers didn’t touch the flag that was flying on the school. Inside, in the corridor, there was also a yellow-blue banner, they tore it down and threw it on the floor,” recounts Oleh Vasylovych. For the invaders, our two colors were worse than a red rag to a bull… When I entered the school, the first thing I did was pick it up, carefully straighten it out, and hang it back in its place. And, you know, no one touched it again.”
Now, when the flag is carried out during school assemblies, when the Ukrainian anthem plays and we all sing it together – the emotions are indescribable… The kids understand that the Anthem is much more than just text because “we will lay down our souls and bodies for our freedom”; the flag is much more than just yellow-blue fabric, and every lesson is not just a duty but a crucial investment in our future. We all felt and lived through this. We all understand that education during the war is our contribution to the future.
You know what the best Teacher’s Day greeting for me is? Being able to enter our school – freed from the occupiers, walk through its corridors and classrooms. Every inch of it speaks of love for Ukraine. Here’s a flag signed by the military. Here are certificates and letters of appreciation. And there – patriotic corners. Such simple happiness – to come into the classroom, say: “Good day, kids. Glory to Ukraine! Thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for giving us another day, so let’s learn, to not let this day go to waste. So, shall we get to work?”
To thank. To help. To learn. This is what we can and will do every day – to win the war for the future of our nation.
