A teacher from Rivne is convinced that each of us can help bring victory closer.
Valentyna Demchyk, a teacher and coordinator at Rivne Lyceum No. 9, does everything in her life at the behest of her heart, so she does not hesitate to make a choice even in the most difficult situations.
She was among those who, after the full-scale Russian invasion, did not wait for an order to do something. Together with her colleagues, she started cutting ribbons for camouflage nets and making camouflage suits.
Today, Valentyna Demchyk is the head of a community of teachers and school coordinators in Rivne. She has created a page for children on Instagram under the nickname nevga_movna, which is very popular. It is here that the educational project “We Are Ukraine!” is being implemented.
She has made about five hundred camouflage suits
The first thing that catches your eye in Valentyna’s office is the military surroundings: ribbons for camouflage nets; a three-liter glass jar used to make… camouflage covers for helmets.
“At the beginning of the war, we, the teachers, created a center in the lyceum for helping the military,” says Valentyna. ”Everyone tried to do something useful for the victory. We had a narrow specialization: we cut ribbons from suitable material to weave camouflage nets and sent them first to Lyceum No. 18, and later to the Puppet Theater. At first, the material was donated by teachers and parents, and then we bought it at our own expense, in particular in second-hand clothing stores.”
Later, according to Valentyna, they started making “kikimoras” (camouflage suits).
“Our colleague Olha Krysiuk was the first to start making camouflage suits at the lyceum,” she continues, ”Now we make them with teacher Natalia Khokhliuk, who has been contributing her free time to this worthwhile cause for the past two years. By the way, her husband is currently fighting at the front”.
Camouflage suit “production” mostly takes place at the volunteers’ homes. However, whenever they have a free minute and all the equipment is at hand, all interested students and teachers can join in the camouflage suite making.
“At first, it took me 3.5 hours to make one suit,” explains Valentyna. ”Now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, I can do it in 2 hours. We work closely with the volunteer center at the Intercession Cathedral. That’s were we get the appropriate materials and from there we send the finished products to the front. In two years I have personally made hundreds of camouflage suits for our valiant defenders! I will continue to do this until we win!… It would be great if we all got more involved in volunteer work. When someone says that nothing depends on me, it is wrong! It does! Greatly!”
My soul is at the front…
This is how Valentyna Demchyk describes herself. Because her cousin Oleksandr (call sign “Kok”) and nephew Oleksandr (call sign “Agronomist”) have been fighting at the front for a long time. They are people of peaceful professions – a broker and a gardener.
“My cousin went to war in early April 2022 as a volunteer,” says Valentyna, ”and celebrated his birthday at ground zero for the third time. Now he is at one of the hottest parts of the front – at the Pokrovsk.
Valentyna’s nephew went to defend Ukraine after receiving a mobilization notice. He became a skilled warrior. He used to destroy the enemy near Bakhmut, and now his unit has been transferred to the Toretsk area. He has been at war for almost 2 years.
“For me, they are heroes, I am proud of them!” says the woman. ”Even being in hell, they support me morally, and not only that. My cousin, knowing about our peaceful actions, once called me: “You obviously need a megaphone? I’ll help you!” Two days later, I had the megaphone in my hands. In a recent conversation, he reassured me about Pokrovsk: “Don’t worry, we won’t give it away!”.
Valentyna knows how important to Ukrainian defenders our support and knowledge that we are waiting for them at home. It is such a happiness for them when they receive a parcel from home with cookies, pies or a cake made with great love.
Monday is “patriotic”, Tuesday is “historical”…
“The page on Instagram was created 4 years ago,” says Ms. Demchyk, ”It was the period of the Covid pandemic. It was possible to communicate with children only remotely, so it was very difficult to work. Then I thought, why not unite children around a social network? Students, now graduates, Daryna Bondarenko, Tetiana Sereda, Iryna Metlyakova, and Aliona Tkachuk helped me to launch the page.”
At first, Valentyna posted information about the events taking place at the lyceum. She added interesting materials, polls, and edited videos. When the war broke out, she realized that it was necessary to conduct educational work.
“I divided the week into 5 days,” says Valentyna. ‘Monday is “patriotic” day. Every Monday I post information about the Heroes who gave their lives for our freedom. Tuesday is “historical”, I prepare materials about prominent figures and socially significant events. Many of my colleagues and students liked the “Native Language Wednesday”, which brings together true lovers of the Ukrainian language. I called Thursday “Art Thursday” to post something interesting about our country’s culture and art, traditions and artists. “Many people also like “Tourist Friday”, because it is here that you can take a virtual trip to the most beautiful parts of Ukraine.”
Valentina Demchyk admits that she enjoys learning about Ukraine and sharing this knowledge with others.
Vasyl Zakrevskyi
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