Just socks? No, it’s not just socks! It’s warmth and care passed on to the boys on the front lines! These simple things become a true symbol of love, support, and inspiration for the soldiers who are currently fighting for the future of our country.
“I look at every batch we prepare for shipment to the front and think: here’s a little more warmth and love for our boys… Each of us asked ourselves more than once – how can we help the army? Our military needs support – not only with Heimars, but also with the seemingly simple and ordinary things – drawings, handmade teas, socks… Because it’s more than just things, it’s a symbol of our support and love!
We want to create something with our warmth and our hands that will keep them warm far from home. With the hands of grandmothers, mothers, wives, and even children. This way, we pass on our warm greetings to them…”
Svitlana Korniienko, a teacher at Tsyplivska Gymnasium, speaks warmly of the warm front that the school staff joined in order to help the Ukrainian army. “This is not just our contribution to the Victory,” says the woman. “This is our call of the soul and heart!”
Everyone wants to help the army: a veteran teacher knits together with children
It seems simple: needles, threads, loops – face, reverse… And a special recipe: thin children’s fingers that still can’t knit very confidently, but still so touchingly and sincerely want to help; yarn that is collected “from all over the world, thread by thread,” and compassionate hearts united by love for their country and those who are now defending it. That is why there is so much soul and heart in the products from the warm front.
“Everyone is knitting!” laughs Mrs. Svitlana. “Both the city dwellers and educators! Everyone at our Tsyplivska Gymnasium got involved in the knitting process: both teachers and even children joined in – they see that we are knitting and they come up to us and ask for needles and yarn, asking to be taught…”
Our gymnasium is small – currently there are barely over fifty students studying there. Since 2014, in order to save the school from closure due to very few children attending, we invited displaced migrants from the East to come to us in Tsypki, Ukraine, and now we have quite a few of such children who also join in to help…
Pavlo Mykolaiovych, our teacher of vocational education – is a veteran of the ATO, who participated in the defense of our country back in 2014, and the father of a son who voluntarily went to the front and is now in Bakhmut, on the front line. Pavlo Mykolaiovych not only teaches our students to knit, but he also specially made knitting needles for this purpose!
You should see how enthusiastically the kids knit – everyone wants to help, everyone wants to be useful! It brings tears to your eyes when the children also approach Victory!..”
We strive to maintain this spark of inspiration and desire to help the Ukrainian army in our students. Especially when our defenders come to visit the school – the children are so happy to meet them, they inspire each other! Last spring, the occupiers were very close to our village, just a dozen kilometers away… Fortunately, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to push them back – and we remember every day who we owe every peaceful day at our home to…
Made with love: how teachers and students warm hearts on the front lines
A thousand and one loops – and hundreds, thousands of loops more… During break time and in shelters during alarms, we knit on weekends, before and after work, to help the army as much as possible, says Mrs. Svitlana, describing the work of the Warm Front in Tsyptkivskyi.
“I’ve been knitting since school,” says the woman. “With time, I almost forgot this skill, but when I picked up the needles again, everything came back to me in a flash! Last winter, when my soul was heavy, I found solace in this work. I was worried about my son – he’s a policeman near Bucha. To calm myself down, I started with embroidery and then moved on to knitting – I wanted others to benefit from it too… so I knit all the time: before and after work, from morning till almost evening, I hardly part with the needles. When the power was out this winter, I even knit in the dark – how else could I help?! I want to help the army in any way I can! Every pair of knitted items means one soldier is warm! I see each soldier as my own child. When I knit, I put all of my maternal love into it. All my prayers are for their protection, for them to come back alive… “
“Nowadays, as soon as there is a free moment in our school, everyone picks up their knitting needles,” the woman says. “The work on the warm front is in full swing! We knit in shelters and sing Red Kalina, and the walls tremble,” she laughs.
“We made balaclavas for the military, and then we started making socks and mittens. We hand over the finished products to local volunteers who take them to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Our socks and balaclavas were sent towards Bahmut and Sumy in Ukraine.” And to show even more warmth and care, we also include our own hand-collected and dried teas in the package for our defenders!
All summer long, we collected and dried herbs and berries for tea for the military – it’s interesting for the kids and pleasant for the boys! We even created our own brand – ‘Tsipkivsky teas.’ Chamomile, sage, thyme, raspberry, strawberry, currant – all our own, local, collected with soul, care, and warmth – our soldiers were grateful and said it was like a warm message from home… They called us and said, “We brewed tea, it smelled like home, and we almost cried…” Such feedback inspires and touches us – we almost cried ourselves when we heard it… And our soldiers speak highly of our socks, saying they are comfortable, practical, and always useful – especially now in the spring, with rain and storms, their boots get wet and they need to dry or wash them, and they wear these socks – they get warm not only physically but also spiritually…”
This is not just a story about aid, socks, or tea. It’s a story about warmth. The same warmth that we can always share with others – and I’m happy that we can do that… We help as much as we can, bringing our Victory closer… Thank you to everyone who helps us with materials – we buy thread ourselves, they are passed on to us by volunteers and all of those who care, and thanks to the Goodacity project for their help with yarn. Together, we are working for Victory, and Victory will surely come!
