Svetlana Yotko

Svetlana Yotko

Here’s my English translation:

Svetlana Iotko (Zavgorodnyaya) was born on November 24, 1983, in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine. The family was small – father, mother, and two children, Svetlana and her younger sister Irina. The parents were ordinary engineers, lived modestly, but tried to instill in their children all the most necessary things: love for knowledge and sports, respect for people, nature, and work. Svetlana did well in school, participated in various handicraft and sports clubs, took part in choreographic and theatrical groups, as well as the school KVN team. She graduated from school with honors and a gold medal. After 5 years, she graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Construction Academy of the city of Dnipro, and also simultaneously studied English and television journalism.

At the age of 16, she met missionaries from Canada at the “Alpha and Omega” youth Christian center, began to study the Bible and grow spiritually. God opened her eyes to many things and helped her find direction and meaning in life, revealed musical and poetic abilities. At 17, Svetlana made a conscious decision to follow Christ and serve Him in the church. Since then, there have been many opportunities to travel and participate in charitable, social, and musical projects in Ukraine and abroad, and even to become one of the first female bass guitarists in Ukraine.

Due to her activeness and cheerfulness, friends began to call Svetlana “Lampochka” (Little Lamp), which subsequently served as an idea for a creative pseudonym.

The first collection of poems was published in 2019 and was called “I Am Free,” in 2020 Svetlana began to read her poems on video and publish them on her YouTube channel (username Svitlana Iotko). Several poems have been set to music and have become songs.

“Most of my poems reflect personal experiences and feelings… It is precisely such bright inspiration in life that I wish for every reader!” says Svetlana.

In April 2021, together with her husband Svyatoslav and three children, Svetlana moved to the USA and now lives in the city of Sacramento.