Valentyna Dzham, 79 anni, del villaggio di Borovychi a Lutsk, cuce sulla sua vecchia macchina biancheria intima e vestiti adattativi per i soldati ucraini feriti

*79-year-old Valentyna Dzham from the village of Borovychi in Lutsk region sews adaptive underwear and clothing for Ukrainian soldiers.*

*Valentyna says she took up sewing to support Ukrainian defenders:*

>*“I support our warriors, our Ukraine. I am Ukrainian!”*

*Valentyna has five children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.*

*Two of her sons and one grandson are serving in the military. One son is a retired serviceman who returned to duty after the start of the full-scale invasion.*

>*“I don’t ask them questions. I tell them: don’t feel like you have to tell me things. Just call me so I can hear your voice. Once I hear your voice, I can tell for myself how you are,” the woman says.*

*At the beginning of 2022, Valentyna started knitting socks for soldiers using whatever materials she had at home or that people brought her. Later, her daughter brought her a sample of adaptive underwear for wounded soldiers. She first made garments for hospitals – designed with Velcro on the sides so they could be easily put on and taken off. Later, she began sewing other types of adaptive underwear as well.*

*By her own count, she has already sewn 600 items with Velcro fastenings, 430 pairs of loose-fitting “family-style” underwear, with another 130 pairs currently in progress. In total, she has produced more than 1,030 items of underwear and clothing.*

*Local residents and volunteers bring Valentyna fabric – mostly new bed linen that can be repurposed into adaptive clothing sets.*

>*“The sewing machine is my age. It’s probably about 70 years old. It’s a manual one,” the volunteer says.*

[*https://suspilne.media/lutsk/1181126-masinka-moa-rovesnica-79-ricna-volinanka-sie-adaptivnij-odag-dla-vijskovih/*](https://suspilne.media/lutsk/1181126-masinka-moa-rovesnica-79-ricna-volinanka-sie-adaptivnij-odag-dla-vijskovih/)