The grand opening of the regional club "Happiness", established on the initiative of the public association "Belarusian Women's Union", took place in the "Vitebsk" Concert Hall.
The club was created with the aim of promoting the strengthening of the institution of the traditional family, and supporting motherhood and childhood. The leaders of the region's women's movement called on men to join this work, counting on their support for the initiative.
The Chairperson of the Vitebsk Regional Organisation of the Belarusian Women's Union, Head of the Main Department of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee, Marina Novitskaya, solemnly presented certificates of honorary membership of the Vitebsk Regional Club "Happiness" to the First Deputy Chairperson of the Regional Executive Committee Anatoly Linevich, the Chairperson of the Vitebsk City Council of Deputies Vladimir Belevich, the Chairperson of the Vitebsk Regional Organisation of the Public Association "Belarusian Union of War Veterans in Afghanistan" Valerian Matskevich, the Director of the "Vitebskvodokanal" branch of the unitary enterprise "Vitebskobvodokanal" Vadim Kopylov, and other prominent male representatives in the region who support the women's union.
The Vicar of the Vitebsk Diocese of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, Bishop Evsevy of Drutsk, speaking about happiness, noted that it, like a flower, requires watering and care, emphasised the importance of marriage and family, and expressed confidence that it is impossible to be happy without faith.
There are 11,768 large families in the Vitebsk region. The hall welcomed representatives of these families – the Avlukov, Lebedev, Chernovsky, and Menshikov families, each raising 5 children.
“How can this be? There is happiness in life, but we don’t have such a club!” – one of her associates in the women’s movement once addressed Marina Novitskaya, the head of the main department of ideological work and youth affairs of the regional executive committee, chairperson of the public association “Belarusian Women’s Union” of the Vitebsk region. They thought about it and... created such a club, and its grand opening took place today in the “Vitebsk” concert hall.
Marina Novitskaya spoke about its goals and plans: – We plan for such a club to operate in all regions. The main goal is to unite people who will bring to society the fundamental, traditional values inherent in Belarusian people: family, relationships between men and women, respect for the older generation, love for the homeland, joy of life under a peaceful sky, and pride in the achievements we have. May this club, which we have named “Happiness,” become a place of attraction not only for people who are truly happy and successful, but, most importantly, also for those who are still unsure about something, have doubts, have not yet found themselves in life or their soulmate. Meetings and communication among like-minded people will help with this. The age of the internet and social networks has largely divided people, so we invite representatives of different generations to the club for open communication. The formats and topics of meetings will depend on the initiatives of the members of the women’s union, but it is certain that men will be involved in them. We will attract them!
For the first grand meeting, 13 representatives of the stronger sex were invited – well-known people in the city and region, who lent their support during the club’s creation. Among them are Vladimir Belevich, chairperson of the Vitebsk City Council of Deputies, Valerian Matskevich, chairperson of the Vitebsk regional organization of the public association “Belarusian Union of War Veterans in Afghanistan,” Alexander Losyakin, director of the Vitebsk State Technical College, Gleb Lapitsky, general director of the “Vitebsk” Center of Culture, Dmitry Kazak, director of the Vitebsk branch of RUP “Beltelecom,” and others.
Marina Novitskaya presented all of them with certificates of honorary members of the regional club “Happiness” of the public association “Belarusian Women’s Union,” established with the aim of strengthening the family, improving parenting effectiveness, preserving and developing moral, spiritual, and family values, in which men play a significant role.
Upon receiving such a certificate, Anatoly Linevich, First Deputy Chairperson of the Regional Executive Committee, said:
– I am glad to see in this hall with
only bright smiles, friendly faces, kind, respected people, whose mere presence warms on such a dreary, cold day. Each of us has their own understanding of happiness; it is different in every family. But, perhaps, the main thing that should unite us is mutual respect. And also – an understanding of the value of every day, hour, minute of life. We must be grateful for living under a peaceful sky, for having family, loved ones, friends nearby; for being able to work freely, communicate, travel, visit, and raise children and grandchildren.
Congratulations were heard from the guests of the celebration – the head of the Smolensk regional branch of the "Union of Women of Russia", deputy of the Smolensk Regional Duma Olga Vasilyeva, and the chairman of the Vitebsk public association "Russian House" Andrey Gerashchenko.
The guests presented the medal "For Love and Fidelity" to the Vitebsk jubilee couples – Vasily and Irina Krivko, who have been married for 30 years, Vladimir and Tatiana Rezanovich (30 years), Sergey and Zinaida Olsevich (35 years).
The event was graced by performances from creative groups of the Vitebsk Culture Centre and the Regional Philharmonic.
Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by
