It has been weeks since Den held a series of cultural events in Mariupol, but it seems like this publication’s team has never left the city. This is because the active residents of Mariupol are building on Den’s ideas and initiatives it inspired.
In mid-April, marigold seeds were planted in the Nursery-Kindergarten No. 130 “Little Pearl.” Yes, these were the seeds collected in the Ivan Franko mansion-cum-museum in Nahuievychi. The seeds come from the treasure chest created to mark Den’s 20th anniversary and donated during Den’s Days in Mariupol to the kindergarten’s principal. They belong to the crop harvested when Ukraine celebrated the 160th anniversary of the renowned genius. “We’ll sow – they’ll sprout!” is the slogan that adorns the bag containing seeds, which is both a souvenir and a symbol of “sowing the intelligent seeds,” like Franko did and Den is trying to do.
The seeds have been planted in one corner of Ukraine, but the good fame of this nice initiative has reached across the country. Of course, people are already aware of the Mariupol initiative in Nahuievychi (they have repeatedly heard about it and seen it recorded on the beautiful photos). Director of the National Historical and Cultural Reserve “Nahuievychi” Oresta Rezekulova shared her impressions with undisguised pleasure: “Our entire team was pleasantly surprised when we learned about such a remarkable event in Mariupol, where little kids planted ‘Franko’s marigolds’ in their kindergarten. It is cute and wise and visionary at the same time. I think that while the kids were planting marigolds, their caregivers were sowing the seeds of intelligence by involving the kids in this initiative. These intelligent seeds will germinate not only in soil of the kindergarten, but also in the kids’ minds. These kids are on the right track since they are getting acquainted with the best examples of Ukrainian culture early on. This is the right way to get them acquainted, because in this way the kids can get sincerely and truly interested in Franko, whom they will then be discovering for themselves throughout their lives. It is also symbolic that these seeds from Nahuievychi will sprout precisely in Mariupol.”
Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
And the truth is, the kids did more than just plant seeds. “We kept the idea of sowing the seeds a secret from the kids. However, they were studying the life and work of Franko right then, so they knew of this poet and public figure and knew many of his poems. For them, it was a small loophole to Franko’s homeland,” recalled Natalia Shaikhutdinova, the principal of the Preschool Education Institution No. 130 “Little Pearl” and a social activist. “It is important to inculcate our culture in children from early on. Franko was a person of world importance, an author who carried our culture to the world. He proved to Europe that Ukraine was its integral part... Mariupol is in the east of Ukraine, while Nahuievychi is in the west. We are showing that the east and west are one.”
This is a great example of how a small-scale, but profoundly meaningful event can plant the seed which will definitely yield numerous good harvests. Get involved with expanding the “marigold space.” Den’s treasure chests can be purchased from our online store at https://day.kyiv.ua/uk/library.
