The 2025 year is special for the Central City Library named after M.L. Kropyvnytskyi. The staff celebrates the 125th anniversary of the institution's founding. On this occasion, several projects have been launched.
First of all, they are about our lives, the present of the library, and the events that are happening near us and around us.
On February 13, another new, anniversary project, “PRO Life: Dialogues in the Library” was launched. Its first participant was People's Hero of Ukraine, veteran, and writer Oleksandr Tereshchenko.
For more than an hour, a cozy atmosphere of friendly communication reigned in the hall. Together with the library director Inha Khorzhevska, the distinguished guest spoke about war and volunteerism, literary creativity, and fostering an appropriate attitude towards disabled veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
"For me, this place is like a prayer one. As they say in the library - a center of sincere people, who support Ukraine. Because you saw that the questions were not only about creativity, but specifically about what hurts. About mobilization... About that they should defend our land," says the People's Hero of Ukraine.
Today, Oleksandr Tereshchenko together with the team united in the International Charitable Fund is making every effort to provide military assistance to numerous units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is concerned with the issues of social adaptation of veterans who have lost their sight. A video project-advisor on life after the loss of upper limbs is being implemented.
"Because after an injury, after a person has lost their health, their life cannot be put on pause," emphasizes Oleksandr Tereshchenko.
A complex and at the same time socially necessary topic is society's attitude towards people with disabilities. Oleksandr Tereshchenko is convinced that appropriate work in this direction should be carried out at all levels.
"This should include state policy. And social advertising. I come to school very often. Now in Kyiv I can't wait, 13-year-old children are asking me to come and talk to them about how to behave correctly, how to address them correctly. To react to a veteran with a disability, or a person with a disability. The more we talk about this, starting from childhood, the more programs there will be, and even state programs, the better," Oleksandr Tereshchenko shares his thoughts.
Oleksandr Tereshchenko does not abandon literary creativity. His plans for the current year include completing a diary about his pilgrimage along the Way of St. James
"This is also such a diary. Because there are so many adventures. There were many such challenges. And this is also one of the episodes to show that life after serious injuries is not a sentence. It is not worse. I want to talk about it and make people understand," emphasizes Oleksandr Tereshchenko.
His valuable experience and approach inspire those returning to civilian life and on the path to rehabilitation. He emphasizes the importance of finding motivation within yourself, engaging in sports, art, or other hobbies that will help you get out of bed and enjoy each day.
