The war divided our lives into “before” and “after” parts, so we are especially sensitive to the words, “Children are our future”. Giving them joy, laughter and positive emotions, we nurture their faith in goodness and bring the Victory closer!
For a special little heart to feel happiness and joy, ordinary adult hearts of ordinary people are needed, i.e., you and me, who can give a child a feeling of care and warmth!
Start
Vision and mood
War is testing our humanity and we, Ukrainians, pass this test every day. After all, we find strength to help others despite incredibly difficult circumstances.
Step 1. A whole war older
It is always the hardest for the little ones. Nastya from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, likes to assemble jigsaw puzzles and play with dolls. The girl is only nine years old. But she already got older, not by months or years, she is a whole war older… In her native hometown Zaporizhzhia, a day without shelling is rare. That’s why the girl and her mother had to seek shelter elsewhere, and they were sheltered by Mrs. Antonina in Chernihiv region, Ukraine!
“Once upon a time, back in the 70s, I studied at the university in Zaporizhzhia together with Nastya’s grandmother, as I am from the city myself,” Antonina Mykolayivna says. “Currently, Zaporizhzhia is being shelled very brutally, the house next to Nastya’s has been destroyed completely by an explosion. How can you stay in the city with a child in such conditions?
That’s why I invited Nastunya and her mother Iryna to our village in Chernihiv region, as it’s a bit calmer here. I don’t have superb living conditions, but I have a house, a garden, and vegetable patches, what else to wish for? As long as it’s calm here, peace is all we need.”
“Nowadays, we all should help each other, what else could we do?” the woman says. “In the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, the Chernihiv region was the first to take the hit, so we had to save ourselves by moving out to relatively safer regions. We left under endless enemy fire, through destroyed villages, it was so scary… We found shelter in the Zhytomyr region where my son’s friend lived and stayed there until the end of April.”
“They lent us a helping hand in the darkest and most difficult times, and now, taking people from Zaporizhzhia in, I felt as if somehow, I kept the torch of good deeds burning. I believe that kindness always works like a boomerang… I have felt its healing power, and now I want to share it with others!”
Step 2. A gift of a smile!
“Nastya is an amazing girl, very smart and independent,” Ms. Antonina tells. “I don’t have grandchildren yet, so she is like a family to me. She studies online, manages everything, plays with our four cats and dog, is always eager to help me, and misses her grandparents, who stayed in Zaporizhzhia, so much…”
Thanks to the Goodacity space, Nastya has clothes and toys! She is so fascinated by the doll and jigsaw puzzles with cats! If you could see her eyes — this is a real festival of joy! It may seem that toys are insignificant, you could do without them. However, during the war children need to feel attention and care, they need some space to feel like children again, though they have grown up so prematurely and tragically. Simple things can support and reassure kids! And toys are a joy for children, who are deprived of many kids’ things by the war; they help to endure such difficult times.
“By giving a child a toy, you give more than just a thing, you give a smile,” Goodacity volunteer Natalya says. “You save their childhood. You see this child’s smile, and you know that it is not in vain! People, who sought salvation from the war in other regions, may be able to buy some basic things, but they often cannot buy things that make children smile. I have very personal and fond memories of gifts to children in wartime myself. My children and I were living in another region in spring. So, when I went with my son to buy him a jacket, they found out that we were displaced and simply gave it to us for free, although at first I refused to take it. It is the question not of financial opportunities in such moments, but of the soul that matters…”
“Things that were once important have lost their meaning. Nowadays children’s hugs, their smiles, their calm is the most valuable,” the volunteer notes. “I am happy to be around people who share the same values and help others without weekends or vacations.”
Finish
Time to sum it up
Goodness does not need a special moment, as it makes a moment special. Goodness does not have vacations, it has no breaks, holidays, and weekends. But it is also a boomerang that always comes back to you, as the heroine of our story says. It may not come back right away, but it will for sure. That’s why it is goodness. There is no other way.
You can afford yourself the luxury of goodness!
Doing good is very simple!
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