Volunteer Center “Teneta”: “Everyone must make a contribution to victory”

upplies, food, and medicine are important for the military, but camouflage tools are equally important for our defenders. These are mainly handled by volunteers at the “Teneta” center, located in the Mechanical district (formerly PMK-7). The public organization with this name, led by Kseniya Vetoshkina, was founded relatively recently, though they have been weaving there for a long time – since February 25, 2022. The “spiders” lack hands, meaning people. So, they note that even help for an hour or 15 minutes is still helpful. Also, for over a year now, the honored educator, and teacher from Melitopol, Hanna But, has been volunteering here. She teaches her students online and also teaches students from Dubno Lyceum No. 6 and No. 8, who most often come here, how to weave nets.What you might not know about Teneta, or what the “spiders” themselves shared with us – read and watch in the article by the Charity Foundation “Community Foundation of Dubno ‘Dobrobut’.”

“We need people, we need them desperately, like air, because every day we receive a large number of requests.”

– What was the driving force behind your volunteer activities?
– The driving force was, unfortunately, the war, – begins the story by the deputy head of the NGO “Teneta,” Hanna Shevchuk. – We first gathered on February 25, 2022, and initially started weaving nets from the Mykolayivska Church. Then we moved to the eighth school. It was very scary then. And there were a lot of people. We started with nets and camouflage nets. Later, when we moved here, people started bringing food, so we began engaging in other types of help. Then we expanded in all directions and now we are involved in many things, and hospitals were added recently. They bring us fabric, some of it goes for bedding, and we send normal t-shirts to the guys, meaning we sort them here. In principle, there are very few of us for such work. We need people, desperately need them, like air, because every day there is a large number of requests. The more people, the better. And… what to say – a thousand kilometers of nets, that’s 100, 200 nets. We work every day from 8 AM until 6-7 PM. So come for an hour, 15 minutes, or 40 – whatever you can. We have 20 people who come regularly.

– What can you say about the help?
– Many people help us. They bring both money and food. Kindergartens are getting involved in weaving nets. It’s so pleasant and touching! It touches your soul to see even preschoolers doing this and wanting to do it. And adults don’t always want to get involved. Even those whose husbands are in the military don’t rush to help.

– Where do you get the fabric, resources?
– People have cleaned out their wardrobes, trunks, and brought us fabrics. We buy paint, paint them (fabrics), and, it goes into the nets.
Today, I ordered fabric for nets again because we are running out. The person who paints just physically cannot keep up because nets are woven not only here but also in Myrohoshcha. And we don’t need a little bit of fabric, we need a lot, a lot. So we have to buy more. Where do we get the money from? Some give 100 hryvnias, some 200, some 500, and some people give 500 hryvnias from their pension every month. Kindergartens collect money, schools. Recently, there was a case when a man came and gave 97 hryvnias and 50 kopiykas. I said, “Leave at least for bread,” and he said, “No, this is for you all, I planned it this way and gave it all.” Such a touching story.

– What positive moments do you recall?
– Our Nina Ivanivna is the number one positive. She is our general (laughs).
The children from kindergarten No. 3 who performed for us – it was incredible. It’s pleasant when you walk, and people say: “Good afternoon. I know you are involved in volunteering. Here are 200 hryvnias for you.” I ask, “How should I write you down?” They reply, “No need, thank you.” These are the little pleasant nuances. We have positive people, and they have a positive attitude toward all of this.

– Who would you like to thank the most?
– Most of all, I want to thank those who get involved and truly help. Even for this space, we need to thank Leonid Dudko. He provided it to us for free. We were provided with this space for free. We don’t pay for rent, electricity, water, or anything else. This is a huge help. When the electricity was cut off, we used a generator for free. It was provided to us by the “Krab” store. Similarly, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myrohoshcha come to weave nets. The Ptysci (Birds) group – they gave us an enormous amount of canned meat. Our support school – they both weave and help with money and products. We are very grateful to those people who sincerely help. There will be a time when I will sit down and write, and remember everyone by name. Everything will come in its own time.

“The war doesn’t affect us as much as those regions, but they need help. That’s why we have big needs. And we can’t do this alone.”

– What is the urgent need?
– In everything. First of all, it’s people. Right now, there is a request for 100 helmet camouflages, and then 150 nets. It’s necessary to have at least 5-10 people working from morning till evening, to have shifts. Of course, we need a huge amount of money. Because we need fabric for evacuation stretchers. Ivan Fiskyv provides straps for free. But we need to buy fabric. Nadia Parfamchuk is constantly sewing them for us.

– Do you help the same, or different units?
– Both permanent and different. Let’s say this – all the guys are ours, there are no outsiders. If there’s a need, they call: “Help us.” No questions asked, we help. For example, today the question was how much a net costs. It costs nothing. Come and help. Even an hour a day. We need people to come and help. We’ll provide it for free. If you can give 100 hryvnias – we’ll be happy, if you can’t – we still give.

– What would you like to say to the people?
– That people should be a bit more sincere and give more. The war doesn’t affect us as much as those regions, but they need help. That’s why we have big needs. And we can’t do this alone.

While the school year was still ongoing, students from Lyceum No. 8 and No. 6 helped with weaving nets. They were excused and involved in helping Hanna But.
The teacher arrived in Dubno on May 9 last year. She was invited to our city by Halyna Semenovych, who was ranked among the top 50 teachers in Ukraine in the famous competition “Global Teacher Prize.”
In this same competition, Mrs. Hanna was named the best teacher of civic education in 2021.
Despite being displaced and fleeing her hometown of Melitopol, the honored educator continues to work on herself and regularly speaks at national and international conferences on national patriotic education.
– I have great respect and value for the people who come here every day because not everyone has in their heart what doesn’t die.
And for there to be such seeds in the heart, they need to be planted, starting with children in kindergartens, such as the ones who came to us.
We started collaborating with kindergarten No. 3 “Dzyvynochok” in September. One day, a woman came in and asked what was needed.
I replied that it would be good to bring children’s drawings, to teach them, and tell them, “You’re going to volunteer, and there they do serious work for different people.”
She volunteered. For Hero’s Day, they organized the event “I Am Proud of You, My Heroine, My Hero.”

“What I receive from the mothers of my children, from my friend in the occupied territory – it’s just unimaginable.”

– Can we say that with children, you work mentally, and here – physically?
– I know that if I didn’t have “Teneta,” I would have lost my mind. Because what I receive from the mothers of my children, from my friend in the occupied territory – it’s just unimaginable. When you see your city, which is full of calls to join the enemy ranks, when everything is covered in red… I forget myself here. I come, get involved – and I’m gone for eight hours. And I only have time to ask Hanna (Shevchuk – editor’s note) to fulfill the requests of my graduates. And these things in captivity, believe me, I wouldn’t be able to do. All my graduates are in different brigades. One of them serves in the 46th Airborne Assault Brigade. And there, the commander probably loves his guys a lot because he constantly reaches out. Right now, they need 100 helmet camouflages. I tell him, “We’re not magicians, and people aren’t made of iron.” Half the apartment building of Nina Ivanivna, her friends, and acquaintances are weaving these helmet camouflages, but it’s still a long process.

– What is the hardest part for you?
– Realizing that I’m not at home. Locals are very proud people, and it’s very difficult to understand how to approach them. We are simpler. The West has influence, a different culture, a clean city. You can’t say that about us, because we’re an industrial region, and Russia had a big influence here in the past.

“Children are everything to me!”

– What mood do you work with here?
– I’m always positive. I like everything here, especially interacting with the local children. I’ve become very close with four girls from the Sunday school “Bozha Nyvka.”
We actually had a team here. I gave them t-shirts, they painted them themselves, writing “Teneta.” All the posters you see (on the walls of the center) – these are works created by the children’s hands.
We held a competition for the best “Teneta” sign, and then we bought prizes.
One painting – I gave the task – was painted by the special school, another by Lyceum No. 6, the third was painted by the primary school, and there’s also one from Lyceum No. 8.
Every piece of children’s work here – I can’t describe or put it into words. Children are everything to me!
When they come here and stay for 3 lessons, I ask, “Is it over already? Maybe I can ask you to stay longer?” Not because they weave fast, we still have to redo their work, but I just love children.
I constantly tell them about how the guys are at the front, and I share interesting facts about them. For example, one of my graduates, a girl who was a seamstress, became a sniper, even though her two children are at war.
We do what we can. Every person who comes here is nationally conscious.

– Your final message to conclude the conversation.
– A big request to everyone we can reach: bring treats, napkins, bandages, hemostatics, socks, mosquito repellent. There are many insects, and therefore, mosquito repellents are quickly grabbed.

Mrs. Hanna is helped in the mornings with the children, as most are at work, by Lyubov Mykhailivna Kostyuk.
She involves the younger generation – on the day of our conversation, she was volunteering with her grandson.
– I constantly tell my children, grandchildren that they need to help because the guys in the trenches are suffering, they have nothing to eat, – says Lyubov Mykhailivna.
– I started coming here in November of last year. At church, we spoke with Hanna But, and she said that paraffin for trench candles was really needed. I brought a big bag of paraffin and stayed. And so, every day from morning until noon, because then we pick up the children from school. I come here for the camouflage nets, and I also bake pies for the front.

Those present agree with the statement that money, fabric, and people are the three pillars on which the “Teneta” activity stands. An unchanged participant at the volunteer center is Nina Ivanivna Vishnyakova. She is a group I disabled person, and she only moves with the help of special aids or transport.
But she finds the strength and ability to volunteer every day.

– Tell us, how did it all begin for you?
– I left the house, and I saw my girls at a table near DOS 110 doing something. I came over to them. They said they were ripping sacks and making squares. I was with them for a long time, almost the whole summer. Then it got cooler, and it was hard to sit, so I came here. I’ve been here for almost a year now. The “youngest” volunteer (laughs).

– How often are you here?
– Almost every day, without days off. There’s no time to get tired. I have to do it, I have to try to help so that the war ends sooner.

– What do you do?
– They told me to make helmet camouflages. I didn’t sleep for two nights, thinking about how to make them better. To weave such a helmet camouflage takes an hour, but to weave a camouflage net by yourself, day by day, takes three days. But it all depends on how each person weaves.

– Who would you like to thank?
– I am very grateful to my girls: Dania Babiy, Nadia Dovhal, Slava Tyrik, Halyna Nikolaychuk, Zoia Shalamay, Vira Kramarchuk, Valentyna. To weave the helmet camouflages faster, I gave them to the girls, and they weave at the tables near DOS No. 109 and No. 110. Thanks to Leonid Dudko for these frames. I wanted to return to my girls, but they won’t let me leave here (laughs).

“We really want victory and must understand that everyone must make a contribution to this cause.”

So, people are always needed. Volunteers will teach how to weave nets and camouflage nets, and provide the fabric, which Mr. Serhiy and the aforementioned women near DOS will pre-cut. And those who volunteer regularly note that the team here is very friendly.
– I have been weaving nets since March 2022. We try to come as often as possible with my friends.
When you sit at home, you think about how those guys are doing at war… in those trenches. It’s a painful topic for me because my husband is near Vuhledar, and I can’t just sit at home, – shares Yulia Haliy.
– Hopefully, someone will be covered by that net and have their life saved. Many people here in Dubno live calm lives, but how is that possible? At least they could come for an hour.
Maybe someone can help financially – they do, but there are not many of them. But here, you come, and everyone is so friendly, you can get distracted and do something useful.
Family understands what’s needed. But when you tell some people, they keep making excuses. We really want victory and must understand that everyone has to make a contribution to this cause. The guys don’t get all the help from the state, so at least we should try here, help in any way we can, because the country is at war.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Tetiana Bondarchuk has been weaving nets. She jokes that her family has come to terms with her volunteering.
– I come here 5-6 days a week. I have work, family, and gardens, but it’s impossible without this. If I don’t come here, I won’t be able to sleep, and the thoughts will haunt me. We are grateful to our soldiers, to our children because they are of the same age as our children, for allowing us to sleep peacefully here. We want them to be protected, even just a little, and we want to help as much as we can.

These women are an example of how we can help our defenders bring victory closer. Without money, despite health problems, work, family, and seasonal jobs. The main thing is the will. That’s why it’s necessary to find time to camouflage the guys and thus save their lives.

You can join in helping the military with the Teneta team by transferring funds to our account:
Recipient name: NGO TENETA
Recipient code: 45041581
Recipient account: UA073052990000026009026230803
Bank name: JSC CB “PRIVATBANK”
Contacts:
+38068 1007743
tenetaukraine@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/teneta.ukraine/