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!
Good deeds for children in the space of creativity and goodness
A spacious cozy room filled with children… On the tables, there are sheets of paper, paints, markers, and pencils. This is a space for creativity and kindness, a place where children’s dreams turn into… drawings! “And this is the first step towards their realization!” says Darya Palamarchuk, an artist, writer, poetess, and painter from Vinnytsia. For her, creativity is not just poetry, prose, or drawing – although we believe that the saying “a talented person is talented in everything” is about her! Creativity is also about doing good deeds, especially good deeds for children – a woman demonstrates this by her example.
Art that heals souls
Good deeds for children by Darya Palamarchuk are free art therapy sessions where internally displaced children create, express themselves, bring their dreams to life on paper, and share their emotions, experiences, receiving lots of positive impressions and new skills!
“Will we ever return home to Mariupol?” “What to draw when you’re very scared?” Children’s questions – both simple and tragic – sometimes brought tears… In the group of internally displaced children I work with, there are kids from Mariupol, Bakhmut, and Kharkiv. These children are probably facing the most difficult times. But their well-being greatly depends on the support of adults. And our task is to help them manage their emotions,” Darya Palamarchuk explains. “Visualizing positive images, desires, dreams, and pleasant emotions – that’s the essence of my project for internally displaced children,” Mrs. Darya shares. “Art therapy sessions bring a sea of positive emotions, inspire and provide resources for life, so I thank Goodacity for supporting the project!”
In our art therapy sessions with children, their main task was to create a resourceful painting that would ignite their inner spark when they look at it. They would gaze upon the painting and see their dreams, their strength – and it would inspire them, make them want to create and taste the essence of life…
This stimulates creativity and inspiration. Drawing helps express what cannot be put into words, release unnecessary stress, negativity, and fear, and fill oneself with strength by visualizing their dreams and desires.
For their resourceful painting, the children had to choose their favorite colors, formulate their biggest dream and secret wish for themselves, and draw it. They were also encouraged to think about their favorite character or person they love and admire, someone they would like to resemble. These three tasks had to be combined in their resourceful painting, where their desire would come to life with the help of their favorite character and their chosen colors.
During the process, the children had complete creative freedom. I told them, “You can draw anything, in any way you like, using your fingers, brushes, or pencils. You can sing, make up a story, in short, do whatever you want…” And this lack of boundaries or limitations truly inspired the children, opening up new horizons for them! It was so delightful to see how the light “ignited” within them, starting from when they were initially closed off and guarded. The children blossomed during the process, sharing their stories, inventing stories about their characters. We had many conversations, even singing and dancing! That’s how art therapy works – as an art that heals souls! As a certified crisis psychologist, my primary goal is for our sessions and the children’s paintings – the outcome of these sessions – to become a kind of “place of strength” for them… Art therapy stabilizes the psycho-emotional state because children come with various experiences. During the sessions, we seek and uncover their sources of support – both internal and external – the things that will help them navigate through the challenging times of war.
Dreams amidst the Ruins
Childhood cannot be put on hold—it happens here and now, even during the war. And in order for it to be happy, good deeds for children are needed. And our heroine embodies them! 32 paintings. 32 happy children. 32 dreams waiting to be realized. The main thing is sincere belief!
“We gathered with the children three times, working on their paintings for several hours each time until they were completed,” says the artist. “The drawings were very diverse. Someone wished for peace in Ukraine, someone painted a new house to replace the one destroyed by war, someone portrayed their future profession on canvas…
One of the works struck me, where a boy wished for… one million hryvnias to be spent on good deeds! When asked where he would spend the earned money, he replied, ‘I will build a shelter for animals!’ It was so touching! The boy is from Kharkiv, and their house was completely destroyed by a Russian shell. But even amidst the ruins, our children dream! And it’s impressive that instead of wishing for a new house for his family, he desired a shelter for ‘little tails’… ‘I believe that everything will be fine for us, we will cope with our loved ones and restore everything, but there is no one to take care of the dogs and cats,’ he explained. Such deep thinking and a sincere and kind heart in a seven-year-old boy!
Today we are organizing children’s works and preparing for the exhibition,” says Mrs. Daria. “For children to see their creations at a major exhibition, with invited guests and journalists, it’s an incredible experience! Additionally, the exhibition will include a group painting session so that anyone interested can participate in creating a large collaborative artwork and express their dreams and desires. When we all come together to paint our dreams, it creates an incredibly powerful energetic space where the foundations for realizing the dreams of each participant are laid. If we dream together, it will definitely come true!
With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Daria Palamarchuk conducts author meetings, readings, and fairy tale therapy groups for internally displaced children who have found refuge in Vinnytsia. Daria is the author of a series of fairy tale collections titled “About Nature.” The fairy tale collections are special because they are handwritten and feature watercolor illustrations by the author herself, along with augmented reality.
“Since the start of the full-scale invasion, our region has welcomed over 300,000 people who sought refuge from the war… The children whose lives were suddenly invaded by war, taking away their homes and disrupting their familiar reality, are in a state of shock and stress, even if it’s not always visible on the outside,” says the woman.
“I want to help them because everyone can do good deeds for children! I am happy when through stories and drawings, I can find the ‘key’ to children’s hearts and help them cope with their fears — the fear of the unknown, the longing for their homeland, and many other fears that are far from childish… In the tales and stories they create and draw during our meetings, children express and release these fears, and they free themselves from the war…”
We need to discuss the situation we are living in with children, share our emotions, and show interest in theirs. Books can help us find the right words for these difficult conversations. I share my books with the children because fairy tale therapy is an effective psychological support during times of war. Now, when the school year has ended, parents often don’t know how to occupy their children, especially those who have relocated here from other regions—they haven’t had a chance to make new acquaintances and friends, they have nowhere to go since many children’s centers have closed during the state of war. Children suffer from a lack of communication, and they would be happy if someone came up with activities, organized something, and kept them engaged.
Good deeds for children will continue: soon we will start a new project to conduct courses for internally displaced children and teenagers. It will include art therapy, 3D modeling, and animation classes. We want to involve up to 200 participants in these courses! The children will create a mobile augmented reality application based on one of my books. They will learn something interesting and useful, and as a gift, they will receive a set of books! Children happily attend such classes where they can take a break from their daily routines, socialize, and engage in creative activities. They move away from negative events and enter the ordinary world of childhood—the world that should be without war!
