Met the Sviridyuk family, which will represent Brest region at the competition “Family of the Year”

Everyone in the Sviridyuk family has their own business. The head of the family Dmitry likes to sing. Sergei studies judo, Polina dances and plays the piano, and three-year-old Maxim accompanies his father in rehearsals. Olga supports hobbies at home and comes up with new family ventures. So in their lives and appeared the contest “Family of the year”. Gradually, grandmothers and other relatives joined the preparation. The family won first in the district and then in the regional stages. Now Dmitry and Olga together with their children will represent the Brest region in the republican final.

Families from the first grade – At first I doubted whether to participate in the competition, and then I thought: why not try? Of course, I asked my husband, because the decision had to be made together. Dima agreed - and went. We did not expect to win, we just wanted to get a new experience, Olga says.

The relationship between spouses began long before marriage. Dmitry and Olga met in the first grade of one of the Kobrin schools. Then everything was as in ordinary schoolchildren: the boys pulled the girls by the pigtails, took the pencil cases and ran away, and the girls tried to get their things back.

After the first grade, Olga and her parents moved to the village. For a long time, former classmates hardly communicated, although they remembered each other. They met again at the age of 20 when they were asked to baptize a child together. We began to see each other more often, talk more often, and the first school acquaintance continued, grew into something more. Now the couple have three children, many common interests and a house in the agro-town of Strigovo, Kobrin district, where everyone can find a case.

Dmitry is engaged in construction work, and now is on leave to care for his youngest son. In addition, he is fond of vocals and participates in the events of the Kobrin Palace of Culture, so songs and rehearsals have long become a familiar part of family life. Olga works as a livestock breeder in Batchi OJSC. In 2023, she was awarded a diploma of the republican campaign “Our Livestock Breeder” for her conscientious attitude to work and contribution to the development of the Kobrinsky district industry. She is used to approaching any business responsibly, but she is not afraid to try new things.

The eldest son Sergey is studying in the sixth grade of Strigov secondary school. He is engaged in judo, in 2025 he took third place in the open New Year tournament among peers. On stage, Sergei is more worried than on tatami, but next to his family feels more confident. In the future, the boy dreams of becoming a police officer.

Pauline is in fourth grade. She dances in the collective of the Kobrin Palace of Culture, masters the piano at the Ostromich Children's School of Arts, participates in reading competitions and tries herself in research work. Among her achievements are diplomas of regional competitions and participation in an international literary project. The stage loves and admits that she likes it when the audience applauds. In the future, Pauline wants to become a primary school teacher.

The youngest Sviridyuk - Maxim - three years. In September, he went to the multi-age group of Strigov High School, and got used to the creative life of the family even earlier. At dad's rehearsals, the kid can play, watch what is happening or even fall asleep near the stage.

Sergey and Polina help their parents around the house and look after their younger brother. They can wash dishes, clean, work on the site, plant or sort potatoes. There are no unusual rules for Sviridyuks: in a large family, no one is left out.

- We do not divide household chores into important and unimportant or adult and child chores. Everyone does what they can. We don't even have to explain long. Children see how the family lives, and they turn on themselves. If someone needs help, then we need to help – for us it is completely natural. Especially warm Dmitry and Olga talk about grandmothers. They keep home recipes and family histories, are able to gather at one table numerous relatives. At weddings, anniversaries and big holidays, grandmothers still find themselves in the center of the kitchen: they prepare homemade sausages and smoked goods, bake pies and distribute duties among assistants.

Large families in this family are not uncommon. One of the grandmothers has five children, four of whom have also become parents of many children. She is awarded the Order of the Mother. Among the older women of the family there are also veterans of labor. However, for children and grandchildren, they remain simply relatives to whom you can come to visit, seek advice and prepare for the holiday together. A special place among home traditions is baking. On Olga's line, one of his ancestors kept a bakery in Moscow. Mom and grandmother still bake in the oven, and for Easter the whole family cooks and decorates cakes. Do not do without home cakes weddings, anniversaries and other family celebrations.

- Grandmas are a real support for us. While they are nearby, I want to remember and adopt as much as possible: not only recipes, but also the ability to bring everyone together. When children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren meet at the same table, everyone feels part of a large family. Perhaps that is why we are so dear to these joint preparations and noisy holidays, says Olga. Over time, the home fascination with baking grew into a social project “Bread in the palms of generations”. His idea is simple: pies can not only gather relatives at one table, but also become an occasion for acquaintance, communication and good deeds. One of the first large sites the family organized for the Day of protection of children near the enterprise "Polesie" in Kobrin. Sviriduks brought pies and offered the guys to sculpt flowers and buns from dough. They were counting on a small master class, but there were so many people willing that a queue formed near the tent - about 300 children visited them during the day.

On the district "Dazhynki" family held a win-win lottery with pies and cookies. The collected funds were used to purchase walkers, canes and crutches for free rental.

The project “Bread in the palms of generations” became the basis for the performance of the Sviridyukov at the regional stage of the competition. The program began with a shadow theater, in which the story of Dmitry and Olga came to life: first class, school tricks, parting and meeting years later.

Then almost the whole large family came to the scene - 15 relatives, representatives of four generations. One of the warmest moments was the transfer of pie from grandmother to great-granddaughter. Pauline accepted him and promised in the future to pass the family custom to their children.

- We wanted to show not just the pastry, but what is behind it. In our room, my grandmother said that she kept this tradition so that one day she could entrust it to her younger ones. Pauline accepted the cake as a family member. It's a very understandable image for us. Seniors share what they know and know, and children promise to keep it further, explains Olga.

His motto Sviridyuka formulated as follows: “Build the future together, filling life with good.” Behind these words - their ordinary life: work and study, training and rehearsals, home holidays, grandmother's recipes and the desire to be close. Now the friendly team is waiting for the Republican stage of the contest “Family of the Year”. Sviridyuks will go to Minsk with the support of all relatives. And even if not everyone can go on stage with them, everyone will be worried. After all, this family has long known that any event becomes warmer if you share it with loved ones.

bogdan@sb.by