108 Years of Wisdom and Kindness.

Every year on September 22, the world celebrates the Day of the Elderly – a date when it is customary to congratulate people of the older generation who have crossed a venerable age threshold. The newspaper's correspondent found out who exactly is classified as a centenarian, how many such people currently live in the Grodno Region, and in which districts of Prinemanie there are the most of them. The journalist also spoke with residents of the region who have reached over a hundred years.

The main thing is faith in God and love for people.

We went to the Dyatlovsky District to meet the oldest resident of Prinemanie, Yulia Gulnik, who lives in the round-the-clock care facility in the urban settlement of Kozlovshchina. Yulia Florianovna is already 108 years old.

The caring staff of the institution helped our heroine prepare for the meeting: a festive suit and a neat headscarf created a real holiday atmosphere. Despite her venerable age, she willingly answered questions and surprised us with her excellent memory, accurately naming important dates.

Yulia Gulnik was born on January 31, 1918. A large and friendly family raised 11 children. In 1940, Yulia Florianovna got married and moved to the village of Zhadeyki in the Dyatlovsky District. Three children were born in the marriage. Unfortunately, today the woman is left alone – her children have passed away. Among her close relatives, there is a grandson, Oleg Nikolaevich, who is himself retired and lives in Kaliningrad. He visits his grandmother every year and always congratulates her on her birthday. Yulia Florianovna also has a great-grandson and, very recently, a great-great-grandson.

The centenarian has been in the round-the-clock care facility since April 2010. She was always active and only stopped walking about three years ago. Because of this, Yulia Florianovna was very upset, feeling that moving in a wheelchair caused a lot of trouble for the staff. However, the institution's employees treat her like family, surrounding her with warmth and care.

The staff themselves speak of their long-term resident as a very sociable, kind, and responsive person. Yulia Florianovna is a deeply religious person. Every morning invariably begins with prayer. She especially loves it when the facility staff take her to the large icon in the corridor, where the woman prays for a long time for the health and well-being of her loved ones.

Of course, in a private conversation Julia Gulik admits that her health is already failing, however she does not stop thanking God for the gift of living such a long life. With special warmth the centenarian recalls her youthful years. When asked about the main secret to a long life, Julia Gulik simply answers – it is sincere faith in God. She advises every person to learn to love their surroundings and to cherish simple human communication.

– We must love each other, communicate and befriend peoples, – says Julia Florianovna. – I really want there to be no wars in the world, so that everyone always has a good mood. It is important to respect your close ones and remember that we are all brothers and sisters.

This soulful encounter left only the most positive and warm emotions. There remains hope that this visit truly resonated in Julia Florianovna's heart.

Working and Maintaining Positivity

The next point on our journalistic route became the Volkovysky district. In the urban settlement of Krasnoselsky lives Nina Poljajevna, who has turned 102 years old. This energetic grandmother looks much younger than her years. She greeted us in an apartment, comfortably seated in a chair near a lit nightlight, which gave the conversation a special soulful atmosphere. The centenarian admitted that from early morning she had been impatiently waiting for visitors.

Nina Poljajevna was born on August 12, 1924, in a peasant family in one of the villages of the Berestovitsky district. Besides her, three more brothers were raised in the family – Mikhail, Ivan and Vladimir. Nina Fominichna's childhood fell during the difficult pre-war years.

– I used to go to church in leather sandals, – recalled Nina Fominichna. – Most of the way I carried them in my hands to make sure the holes didn't become bigger. Not alone, all village children did the same. After finishing four grades, I went to work so that life would be easier for the family.

Then the familiar way of life was disrupted by war. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Nina met a young front soldier – a border guard from the Russian city of Gorky. Nina's husband was born in 1920, he was drafted into the army in 1939. Before that he managed to finish two years of technical school, which at that time was considered a very high level of education. His youth coincided with the harsh years of drought in the late 1930s in the Volga region and Ukraine, and to save the boy from starvation, his mother personally took him to the military commissariat.

He began his service in the Far East, in the border troops near Japan. After the defeat of the Japanese troops in 1945, his unit was relocated to Western Belarus, and the border detachment was stationed in the town of Ross. By that time, the man had completed courses for film projectionists and began traveling with a mobile cinema unit throughout Western Belarus, performing important cultural work. It was during these trips that they met in her native village, and soon they married. The young family received an apartment in Ross, at the place of his service. They lived well, amicably, in love and harmony, and raised two children – a son, Valery, and a daughter, Tatyana. Nina Fominichna has five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Today, her son, Valery Pavlovich, faithfully cares for Nina Fominichna. He sincerely loves his mother and looks after her: he washes her, feeds her – all household chores fall exclusively on him. The long-lived woman is infinitely grateful to her son for this reliable support.

Nina Polezhayeva attributes her active longevity primarily to labor and an active lifestyle. By the way, the mother of our interviewee lived for 96 years and died in a tragic accident, having forgotten the medicine for her seizure at home...