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!
Volunteer “Bo Mozhemo” Iryna - on rebuilding destroyed homes!
Shovels, hammers, boards, drills, bricks, piles of slate and foam blocks, and a heap of enthusiasm to help and rebuild… And – the delicate 19-year-old from Chernihiv, Ukraine, Iryna Naumenko – one of the volunteers of the Volunteers Association “Bo Mozhemo” (“Because We Can”)! Behind her delicacy lies an incredible inner strength that brings the joy of life back to others!
“Sometimes, people who came to help would look at me so ‘sympathetically’ – me, small and thin – and say, ‘Child, what are you doing here, how can you break that brick or carry slate…’ But when they saw me carrying and breaking bricks, knocking down walls, and climbing to cover and repair roofs – after that, they wouldn’t say anything))
I fought not only with ruins but also with stereotypes,” laughs Iryna.
“I’m happy to do this in the best company in the world – the company of volunteers from the Association “Bo Mozhemo.” Both girls and boys in our group are just incredible!”.
Celebrating My Birthday... at a Work Party!
“We work to bring back the joy of life to people,” Irina explains about the activities of the volunteers from the “Because We Can” Association. “How did it all start for me? After experiencing everything, after all the heart-breaking news, after the bombings and sitting in basements, I wanted to help others,” the girl shares. “In the summer, we organized work parties in Stary Bilous, Ukraine. Tetiana Kostenko (my aunt) and Irina Pylypenko, who were already volunteers with “Bo Mozhemo” (“Because We Can”), taught me the most important thing – ‘Grab a shovel and start digging!’,” she laughs. “I went everywhere: to Kyivka, Zarichne, and then other locations across Ukraine, places I had never been to before. I read announcements about “Bo Mozhemo” (“Because We Can”) work parties on social media, looked up this or that village on maps, and headed there… At first, I was a bit shy, feeling awkward – I hardly knew anyone, what was I doing here? But I got so drawn into the work that to my main specialty (Irina is a future journalist), I’ve probably added a few construction ones,” Irina laughs. “Last year, I studied online and went to work parties… It was hard – but with ‘our’ people and the right motivation, everything is possible!
Our work parties are always about mutual support and sharing positive energy. All “Bo Mozhemo” (“Because We Can”) folks are incredible – they show, teach, and help. There’s no such thing as – oh, you’re a girl, you just arrived, you don’t know anything, what are you even doing here?” she laughs… “No, everyone will tell you, show you, give you a hammer, send you up to the roof…
I’ll be honest – the first time I climbed up to cover a roof, I was a bit scared – but I managed and am happy about it, and then everything went ‘smoothly’! Truth be told, since my grandfather is a builder, I’ve been ‘steeped’ in this field since childhood… But even in my wildest dreams, I didn’t imagine that at 19, I’d be leading work parties! I remember how nervous I was when our “Bo Mozhemo” (“Because We Can”) folks first trusted me to help manage a work party – I spent a long time preparing, picking out the tools we’d need, gathering all the volunteers – and it all worked out…
Initially, there was a moment of disorientation – when you’re standing amidst the ruins of what used to be someone’s entire life, and everyone turns to you asking, “What do we do?” But that feeling lasted only a couple of minutes, and then – you grab a shovel and start digging. In any unclear situation – grab a shovel and start digging))) Just to show others that – yes, it’s possible, yes, it’s real, even though it’s December outside, there’s snow, everything is frozen – you grab a shovel and start digging because you need to clear the rubble and help people… And when people see it’s possible, they also start digging, and the work flows. Together, everything turns out well, even in bad weather, as they say.
Fortunately, our regular volunteers always helped me. We’re all not just like one team – we’re like one family! I even celebrated my birthday at a work party – with all the people dearest to me!”.
Volunteering as a Family Affair!
“So many damaged homes, so many shattered souls… The stories of those who refuse to give up even amidst ruins are striking and memorable,” says Iryna. “The warmest memories I have are of a couple from Trisvyatska Sloboda, Ukraine – Uncle Petro and his wife, who makes the world’s most delicious pies and dumplings. From every work party, we left their place with our hands full of apricots – and it was so touching… Next to their house, they had a small orchard and vegetable garden, and right in the middle of it, a bomb had fallen – creating a huge crater, the house burned down, but one tree – an apricot – survived and delighted us with its large, sweet, fragrant fruits in the summer. It was an incredible sight – a lush-orange apricot amidst the destroyed courtyard… And it’s really more than just a tree – it’s a metaphor for our human souls. Everything around is scorched, in ruins, but they – they bloom! People have suffered so much, everything is destroyed – but they haven’t become bitter, haven’t closed themselves off, but on the contrary, share everything they have left – apricots from the only tree that survived in their yard…
This light, this humanity, this love, this ability to feel the joy of life in our people – it’s incredible!
We spent a long time clearing the debris of their house, and at these work parties, we came together in such a way that it became practically our family tradition… First, we cleared the rubble, then we took on the rebuilding.
We volunteered, you could say, as a family contract: me, my 70-year-old grandfather, my aunt (Tetiana Kostenko), and two younger brothers. Grandpa – our tireless “energizer”! I remember working at a work party in the winter – everything was frozen over, covered with ice, and we were clearing the rubble. We were all tired, sweat dripping from under our hats, but grandpa kept wielding his ice pick… And we watched him and followed his lead with our shovels,” she laughs. “He’s very hardworking, and I always try to be a good granddaughter to him – as hardworking as he is, and kind.
Grandma and our aunt help the army, weaving nets – they have their own “special squad” in Stary Bilous… My two younger brothers are also regular participants in all work parties, even the youngest, who is eight!
They cart wheelbarrows, stack bricks – they have so much energy and enthusiasm! It’s their initiative, no one forces them: they help grandma with the nets, and this winter, we together twisted trench candles. They want to be useful, to help – it’s their own small therapy after all the horror they experienced last spring…”
Patching Up Our Bombarded Home and Helping Others!
“Our house was also damaged by bombings in early March last year – the roof got hit, and my room was wrecked… I’m studying in Lviv, Ukraine, but I came to Chernihiv, Ukraine, for my little brother’s birthday just before the full-scale Russian invasion and ended up staying with them. I remember sitting in the kitchen when we heard explosions nearby, and all I managed to do was push away my plate and hide under the table, and then it ‘hit’… Ordinary metal blinds on the kitchen window saved me – a shard got stuck in them. My grandparents were on the other side of the house – stoking the stove, my grandma barely managed to pull my grandpa into the summer shower, as a few seconds later a huge fragment flew through the roof – my brothers were terrified, but we all miraculously remained alive and healthy…
Our house sustained minor damage – so we patched up our own and helped others… I was struck when I met volunteer Oleksiy at a work party, whose house was completely destroyed – at first, he didn’t even tell anyone about it, worked with us, inspired and uplifted everyone with his optimism, even though his own home was in ruins… Our people have so much light that no darkness can overcome! The feeling that we are all one family, and we are together in sorrow and in joy – it’s very inspiring, gives life meaning.
I always tell everyone: if you want your city to be rebuilt and to flourish, you have to start doing something about it yourself. Nothing will fall from the sky, nothing will ‘just happen’…
It all starts with you. Again: Everything. Starts. With. You. And I saw this with my own example. At first, I also thought – what can I do, I’m just a young girl… But in reality – so many rebuilt homes, raised walls, repaired roofs, so many happy people, so much gratitude…
Sometimes, you come to a place where war has left its dark mark, and you see the immense human sorrow, how much work lies ahead… But then you arrive at a work party, where there’s such a large, tireless human anthill – and everyone helps, everyone is doing something… And later, when you walk down the street and see – walls are being erected there, a roof patched up there, and there a whole house has been rebuilt – and you know that you have a part in it, that there’s a brick laid by you, and your heart lightens, and there’s one more reason to enjoy life…”.
