Everyday heroism, big and small, is what we, Ukrainians, are up to! It seems that nowadays, no person is not involved in one way or another in helping the army, refugees, victims of war, or people who cannot take care of themselves. Some people pool their money to buy necessary things for the front. Others gather to rebuild someone’s house destroyed by an explosion or to rescue cats from cities ruined by shelling. Each person’s painstaking and selfless work occurs behind the scenes of this large-scale phenomenon!
“Big things are composed of our small daily actions,” says volunteer Maryna from Chernihiv, who organized the weaving of camouflage nets for the front.
Start
Vision and mood
Thin children’s fingers, elderly hands, graceful women’s hands, and men’s hands coarse from hard work — all of them weave this volunteer net, ribbon by ribbon. Each strip and every knot are made with hope and love! Some people give their shirts, some donate money for fabric and paint, and others help by manually weaving nets. It occurred to me that the whole of our Ukraine is a similar huge canvas today, where all those who care are weaving their contribution to our communal Victory, thread by thread!
Step 1. Wings for guardian angels
“Since the beginning of the war, many people have mastered a new volunteer “profession,” Maryna says.
“Artists, teachers, IT specialists, engineers — we all became volunteers to do what is needed right now.”
“February 24 was the day that divided Ukrainian life into the “before” and “after” parts. First, there was the shock, then the most terrible weeks of our lives came, spent in the basement hiding from constant shelling. There was even a short period of evacuation abroad with my children when I was aching to return home. So, when I returned to my native Chernihiv, I took up volunteering, covering the most urgent needs of the soldiers, and then we were asked to weave one camouflage net.
My husband is a design engineer and is used to thinking on a large scale. He immediately said:
“Why only one? We have a spacious house, so let’s make a frame, weave nets, and let everyone willing to help come and weave with us.” It was said and done; we made the frames and started working! I am so grateful to my loved one for his help and support and to all our friends and others who began coming to weave nets with us! Even half an hour of such work per day is effectual when we are united and consolidated!
Such inspiring activity attracts incredibly motivated people; even three- and five-year-old kids weave nets along with us, and tears well up in your eyes when you watch it. I am happy that there are such people and so many of them! I believe it is our Ukrainian duty to help, and we are doing our small part, putting our soul and energy into it. We say that we weave wings for our guardian angels. Our soldiers are guardian angels, and we weave wings to cover and hide their equipment, trenches, and lives from the enemy.”
Step 2. Those who weave Victory
“Weaving nets is our primary volunteer activity, but despite that, I still try to cover many other needs of our defenders: I am currently raising funds for a car for the military, and we have already purchased the necessary optics and uniforms.
I now live by the motto, “Each of us should do everything we can and a bit more!”
“In the two months we have been weaving nets, almost fifty “wings” have been completed for our defenders. All have been delivered to where they are most needed — the combat spots of Eastern and Southern Ukraine and to defenders along our regional borders.
We weave nets of different sizes; some for trenches, and others for machinery such as tanks, artillery, and cars.”
“Weaving nets has many important technical nuances. For example, there are various weaving techniques, the net must be strong but not too heavy, and most importantly, it must camouflage reliably. All these nuances should be considered, and we have already mastered this science in two months!”.
“Everyone weaves nets in our family! My husband’s parents live close by, so they cut the fabric into ribbons for us. My husband, me, and our two children weave nets, cut and dye fabric, and take orders from the military for new nets. At first, we were cutting strips from various clothes gathered from all over the place from different people. But it was not always convenient, and we wanted the best quality. So we switched to bedclothes instead, which we dye with special paint in camouflage colors. This is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive activity, so we thank everyone who helps us and the volunteers from Goodacity as well. Each person weaves their contribution to our Victory with knots and ribbons!”.
Finish
Time to sum it up
We are strong when we are together! Even in the most challenging times, we act as one coordinated mechanism; we unite and support each other. And this way, everyone is weaving Victory, kids, and adults, thread by thread!
You can afford yourself the luxury of goodness!
Doing good is very simple!
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