“I just cannot sit idle doing nothing. So we decided to make amulets for our brave soldiers to support them and bring our country closer to victory!”, said Tamara.
How Tamara Abramova in Viytivtsi Teaches Local Residents to Make Amulets for the Ukrainian Army
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine made Zaporizhzhia resident Tamara
Abramova and her family flee their home. They were welcomed by the Viytivtsi
Community in Vinnytsia region where the woman and her daughter with grandchildren soon settled in the old house.
In her previous life, Tamara worked a lot with children in holiday camps. To reciprocate the generosity and warm welcome of the Viytivtsi Community, Tamara volunteered to conduct creative master classes for the local children.
The Russian speaking woman switched to the Ukrainian language entirely and began master classes to teach kids how to make a motanka doll, a traditional Ukrainian rag doll, as a talisman for valiant defenders of Ukraine.
When making a rag doll, one can enclose a prayer or a postcard created by children’s
hands. More than 400 rag dolls were already delivered to the Army.
The motanka doll master classes became so popular that even adults participated in them to make amulets for the Army. Recently, Tamara came up with a new idea to conduct a master class to make another talisman, a solar horse, at the Citizen Activity Center in Viitivtsi. In the ancient times, it was believed that a solar horse could bring good luck to the Cossacks in battle.
The Citizen Activity Centers were created with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP Program, which is implemented by East Europe Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation with funds from the Government of Switzerland.
