Česky
She says she knows a lot of people who are much more active than she is, and she doesn't feel special about disclosing her life and activities, but: "If it would give someone inspiration, then hooray for conversation."
"Student love brought me from the foothills of the Orlické Mountains to the village of Loděnice and the beautiful region around the Berounka River 40 years ago. It still holds to this day, as does the relationship to the village where our children and wonderful four granddaughters live, and last but not least, my husband's mother. I have also been very lucky to have my neighbours with whom we form a community based on our ability to help each other, have fun together, but also to make other people in the village happy," Bohuslava describes how she came to Beroun. Mrs. Vohradská is very active not only in her village. She is involved in voluntary cleaning of public spaces, her Advent borscht has become a traditional start of the Advent holidays, and she financially supports culture, kindergarten and primary school in her village. She says these are just small things. Also, when the importer of snacks and lunches for the kindergarten fell ill, she did not hesitate to fill in for him during his illness.
"The beginning of March last year probably caught us all off guard. I remember the weekend when the wearing of smocks was ordered from Monday. My advantage was a sewing machine, the experience of having sewn on my young children and knowing that it made sense. While I was already sewing with material I found at home, my husband was queuing for more fabric. By Monday morning I was running around the village with a basket of drapes to give away. After family and friends, it was infrastructure's turn. Shops (the biggest one was already sewing on their own), the cleaning crew, the fire department, the post office, the municipal office and then random passers-by.
I was glad when I found the Facebook group "Sewing drapes Berounsko". In this group we supported each other and as soon as one request was done, we went to another. The whole group sewed thousands of drapes, among others for the hospital in Beroun and Hořovice. The community that was formed around this group appealed to me for its organisation and purpose. It was an honour to meet them. In the end, I sewed about a thousand drapes and one sewing machine is still waiting to be repaired, but I will never forget the beautiful feeling when I met people wearing my drapes.
When the numbers of infected people started to rise again in the autumn and the hospitals became more and more crowded, I wondered what I could contribute again. The impetus was my young, until then healthy friend who ended up in a serious condition with covid in a hospital in Beroun. And when I heard about the care he was receiving at your hospital, the decision was made. Health care was the obvious choice. But what good would I have been without a degree? In the end, the choice fell on baking sweets for the ward staff caring for covid patients. Thanks to a call in a Facebook group, Mrs. Hana Kollmanová joined my idea and we are still a team to this day. I admire her because she also takes care of small children. Thanks to the Eliáš family, who immediately after my challenge donated a lot of basic ingredients.
Last year's drapes and today's baking perhaps reflect the overall changes in society that have taken place over the year. After last year's enthusiasm, clapping and mutual help, there were still activities in the fall to help the health care workers from the grassroots. Today, I don't see much help and rather see a downplaying of their work, with many people acting as if nothing is happening despite the restrictions.
I want to continue baking until the uninvited guest is here to such an extent that the life of health workers is completely upended and the situation returns to normal. It's only a crumb of help, but it's about the only way I can support them.
At this time, I wish everyone good health, and I wish some of them to understand that they are not living here alone.
I ask everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they can. Let them take advantage of the help offered with registration or transport to the vaccination centres. I wish especially the children and teachers to be able to see each other again in school, where children belong and need it not only to learn. I wish all those who have suffered economically from the current crisis to emerge stronger for the next venture. They will need it. I see them as one of the most vulnerable groups in the future. And to all the health workers, above all, stamina and an early return to normalcy."
Bohuslava Vohradská
Retired
