Anna, Lyudmila, Snizhana and Julia met thanks to the joint activities of YMCA_Zhytomyr. YMCA is an international organization with more than a century of history, which founded badminton, volleyball and other games, and not only, its offices operate in many countries around the world, including Ukraine, in particular, in Zhytomyr also has a local organization. The interlocutors are united by volunteer activities. Each of them somehow joins the initiatives of Zhytomyr residents or offers them to the citizens themselves. Some also volunteer for Zhytomyr.Travel, so don’t be surprised if you recognize their names. In response, the editors decided to ask what our guests see the importance of volunteering, why is it for them? And also the second important question: what did you manage to read between the cases of this quarantine summer? And do books encourage charity, which is so important this year?
Julia Kovtonyuk, massage master «Julia Kovtonyuk Massage Studio», volunteer
«I can tell you about my reading impressions from two art books. One of them that struck me recently was Alex Micklidis’ Silent Patient. When I read somewhere in the poems a confession of love like «I can’t live without you. I want to be with you forever» , then after reading this work I was once again convinced that such feelings… – they can flow like… a curse. What can a person go for in order to preserve the illusion of love? What compromises with your conscience? Can it kill the person who killed it? The dynamic plot of «Silent Patient» keeps the work in suspense until the finale of the work, but… after reading – immediately want to re-read again»
«Khaled Gosseini’s novel The Kite Catcher is a confessional work that is frank in its experiences. A poignant combination of priceless judgment and humility, repentance and pity»
«How can Kite Catcher be related to volunteering? Imagine that the protagonist lives successfully and happily in the States with his family, has a decent job. He returns to his homeland, Afghanistan, where he has to save the son of his childhood friend from trouble. It cost him huge obstacles and trials to take the boy out of the hands of terrorists and bandits, to snatch him from hell. Why did the protagonist agree to this? Everyone has their own open pains, feelings of conscience, ways of redemption. And volunteering. You do something small or big, alone or in a group, often or occasionally – and at the same time you feel some inner call and joy. And then, and then – even fate may change, and not one, as happened in the book. Isn’t it worth living for? Everyone has the opportunity to become good again. «There’s always a way to get better again», Kite Catcherr constantly reminds readers. Reading this novel cleanses and heals. Afghanistan through the eyes of a man who loves his country with all his heart – I felt her pain. I advise you to read to those who seek to purify the sou»
Snizhana Gerasymchuk, communications manager, reader, volunteer
«Charles Belfort’s «Parisian Architect» is a novel about the war and horrors that accompany it: persecution, interrogation, death; it is a novel about people who challenged the absurdity of a war that cripples destiny. The protagonist of the work – Bernard Lucien, as well as, in fact, the author of the book – an ambitious architect. He can even be said to have gladly accepted professional challenges. During the German occupation of Paris, Lucien finds himself quite unusual: he has to equip a hiding place for Jews, whom, brought up by his father in a spirit of hatred for them, he does not like at all. Instead, he will receive a decent cash prize and the opportunity to design the future plant of industrialist Auguste Monet. Adhering to the offer of this Frenchman, who, risking his own life, helps the representatives of the persecuted people, Lucien embarks on a path of growth: professional, ideological, spiritual. Creating one hiding place after another, he receives «rewards» of destiny: and this is not only the development of architectural skills, but also the highest values – friendship, devotion, love of worthy people»
«Paris Architect» is the first rehearsal of Charles Belfort’s pen, which won the hearts of millions, as the novel was included in the New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for the Dublin Prize for Literature. Two film studios, Studio Canal and The Picture Company, have acquired the rights to make the film based on the book, as the work organically combines a detective story with the genre of historical novel (in the pages of the book you will meet celebrities who did not escape from occupied Paris in 1940 year, such as: Maurice Chevalier, Sasha Guthrie, Edith Piaf), which makes it interesting for cinem»
«We live in a society dominated by a culture of consumption. Most people are primarily interested in what they can get from the world, but in reality we only become truly happy when we give. Many years ago, I decided to help those who live their lives with me, and «introduced» useful things into my lifestyle: I support the sick, save nature from garbage, participate in useful and beautiful cultural and artistic initiatives. My husband also became a «quiet» volunteer, with whom we often talk about the power of the «boomerang of good», because we feel it in ourselves. I remember with special warmth how this year he responsibly approached the wish of the child from the orphanage – thanks to him the child received the dream gift, chosen with great love. «Parisian Architect» is a work about the power of good that saves lives and worlds. The protagonist of the work during the German persecution of Jews (disliking the latter), undertakes to help them and designs miracles for them, guided by far from noble motives – the desire to earn and receive new orders that can reveal its potential. But in rescuing people, he changes – he grows not only professionally but also spiritually: the tragedy of the Jewish people begins to hurt him. He becomes truly happy when he decides to take care of a Jewish boy who is left without a family. By becoming a father to him, he gets everything that money cannot buy, but what is most valuable in life – the happiness of loving and being loved, the happiness of being with a woman who shares your values and the trials of fate»
Anna Sokolova, President of YMCA_Zhytomyr, volunteer
«The book Why Nations Are Declining explains the success of East and West countries in different epochs by exploring the economic, cultural, and natural factors that influenced their inequality and wealth. The authors of the book, Daron Ajemoglu and James Robinson, which they worked on for 15 years, draw one of the conclusions: it is thanks to the development of inclusive institutions and some luck that some countries have achieved incredible success. And although this is an ambiguous and controversial issue, it is impossible to disagree with the statement about the need to clearly distinguish between «good» and «bad» politicians. Having been written for a wide range of readers, the book can be especially valuable for the worldview of a modern Ukrainian young citizen. Whether our country has a significant chance for an optimistic development scenario also depends not least on the same worldview – this is my conclusion»
«If you look for the roots that lead to my volunteer work, the eternal words «Treat people the way you want to be treated…», which I often heard from my mother as a child, and the second saying, which belongs to St. Mother Teresa ends like this: «… Be good in spite of everything»
«In my life I was lucky to meet people who, through their work, inspired me to take an active position, inspired me to move from consumer to citizen position, including Angelina Nesterova, Tamara Kotz, Father Bohdan Boyko… All benefactors who influenced and influence my worldview , now I will not list, but they are in my heart»
«What do you remember most from the experience of volunteering? When a young person gets the opportunity to study for free, the studio and then really, as they say, changes for the better, expands his horizons. Without worries, whether everything planned will succeed, of course, does not happen, but at the same time meetings, new acquaintances, successful initiatives… – all this adds joy to life»
«The book «Why Nations Are Declining» can just «lead» readers to think: until you give up and say that everything is decided for us, you influence the world with your education, openness and desire to change and improve processes. How great this influence will be, time will tell, but while we are here, let’s try to remember how in the famous song «Ukraine» by Taras Petrynenko: «Our candle has not yet burned, // Our youth is still with us, // And whether worth our work is, – // Then people will say, time will tell»
Lyudmila Zolotyuk, education manager, initiator and co-author of social action projects, volunteer
«For my pedagogical vacation, I chose a suitable work – «Summer Book» by Tuve Jansson, a well-known «mother» of Moomin-trolls, author of works about these monsters. And I read this book the whole vacation, even though it’s very small. Yes, honestly, I «stuck» on the Internet like students (laughs). At the same time, you know, the same tempo is important for the «Summer Book». That is, you have to be relaxed and calm, summer and vacation to «dive» into the aesthetics of this work by Tuve. And if the list of various affairs «carries» in the head, it is better to wait for a wave similar to those among which the granddaughter Sofia, grandmother and the father of the girl on the island, in the house, for them summer lives. They are the main characters of the story, first of all Sofia and her grandmother. And I was sure that they would «wait» for me if I did not «come» to the book about their coexistence and relationship. And they, relationships, interesting, funny, sometimes moving in a straight line and often adventurous. The grandmother often supports her granddaughter in adventure plans. Sometimes it is thought that they are like peers: the grandmother is wise because of her life experience, and the little one is wise because of the wisdom of children, it is no coincidence that her name is Sofia. By the end of the work, the heroines also became closer. Of the children’s pearls of Sophia and her «Study of Split Worms», the writing of which, of course, was supported by grandmother, I was both surprised and happy and giggled to myself. If my great-grandmother had read this, she might have said, «Sophia has said like an old.» The closer to the end of the work, the more I began to worry about grandmother. The work consists of stories from family life, one after another, often called simply and sometimes fabulously, for example: «Game of Venice», «Sophia’s Storm», «Worms and others» and others (writing their own names are saved from the book, and repetitions are made by purpose. (smiles). However, at some point I was overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness that the acquaintance with Sofia and grandmother was coming to an end, summer was coming, too, and vacation was coming, and even if Tuve didn’t think of “storming” the finale of the work, I couldn’t stand it and cried. Probably the writer understood this and took pity on readers like me, putting a colon at the end. What is «hidden» behind it, the reader guesses for themselves, both from the impressions of the work and life experience…»
«… I often put the «summer book» in my «women’s» handbag or «women’s» bag. It was not always possible to read between business and movement. And it turned out to read in the clinic, in the city in the fresh air. But it was best read among the leaves and tall cherries, bitten by birds – magpies or crows»
«It may sound strange, but at one time volunteering, participating in such initiatives and projects helped me to regain some self-esteem after a significant external devaluation in my life. I think that it was at this time that I managed to «catch» the meaning of the famous phrase «when you help others, you help yourself.» I think it’s not about selfishness, but about win-win. In charity, you also learn to simply give to people, without expectations, accept the choices of others, take into account the emotions, experiences of both yourself and team members, even create emotions – joy, inspiration and positive space, overcoming challenges and difficulties. And then it is warm to watch how these circles of volunteer experience are «distributed» to other areas of your life – work, relationships. After all, first of all it is important to be an attentive volunteer for your home, family, friends, colleagues. Let’s face it, we often see these areas of life as always on hand, so there’s always time for them. Therefore, the experience of volunteering is a kind of return to the principles, priorities, values of your life, an attempt or reminder to approach life with attention, environmental care, support, empathy… »
«I once wrote on my Facebook page that the social action projects that I managed to implement together with colleagues and friends are perceived as achievements for me. This is an important experience and atypical work at the horizontal level. How to find like-minded people? How to offer them an idea on a volunteer basis? How to support each other? How, in the end, to find extra time outside of work, home or, conversely, to gather at someone’s home as an office «corner» to implement the plan? It seems to me that the search for answers to such seemingly project questions is both a search for opportunities to achieve what you dreamed of, and a chance to see the horizons of life itself. It is possible that the following will be read unexpectedly, but «Summer Book» by Tuve Jansson tells, in particular, about such «team work» first of all Sofia’s grandmother and granddaughte»
