Concrete Sunflowers

Tag: volunteering

  • A supply hub tour

    R: Let’s take this one, here’s its number. See? It’s all there. And this one was shot down literally about a year ago. I: Is it made of cardboard or what? R: Yeah, sorry, as we say, it’s made of shit and sticks, no other way to put it. That’s just how it is. But…

  • Aliona on language and swearing

    Aliona: [starts speaking Ukrainian] We know, that our reality has a great impact on our language, and language impacts our reality just as much. When the full-scale invasion started, I was in the middle of research, for my dissertation, on invective [swear] lexis in Ukrainian language, in a political discourse. Because of that, certainly, I…

  • Ana on wartime culture

    Part 1: Ana on wartime culturePart 2: Ana on superstitionsPart 3: Ana on stamps Ana: Well, again, before, like when it started in 2022, I guess we get more stories like the Ghost of Kyiv or Chornobaivka, if you heard about that. Like it was a village in Kherson which was- the Russian troops, they…

  • Amy on what was in that jar

    Note: This quick interview took place after more than a few drinks during a group dinner. Vic: So what was in the jar that the old lady threw at the drone? Amy: Pickled tomatoes. Vic: Where did you hear that it was tomatoes? Amy: In an interview she did. Vic: You think there was actually…

  • Kraken soldiers on beliefs and intuition

    Vic: How familiar are you with the Ghost of Kyiv? Has the story come to Kharkiv a lot? Roman: Should I answer in Ukrainian? Vic: Whatever you prefer. Roman: Personally, I don’t know the Ghost of Kyiv. Of course, I heard about him at the start of the war, even before I arrived in Ukraine.…

  • Maksym on the unique position of military volunteers

    I: What meaning do flags have at the frontline? What do soldiers say if they have a flag? How do they feel if they don’t have one? Does it carry a specific meaning, or are there traditions tied to them? Maksym: I’m not sure I follow the question. I: I put a lot into that…

  • Iryna and the bullet

    Iryna: Okay, so back in 2022 when they still had the security checkpoint in Kharkiv train station. We were going back from Balakliia, it’s like the- it was a recently liberated area. It was probably liberated within the last couple of weeks, and you could see all these different, you know, bullets on the ground,…

  • Chrystyna’s story

    This interview took place whilst volunteering in a kitchen in Kyiv.  Chrystyna [name changed] was born in the USSR in territory which is now Russia.  Her family moved to Ukraine when she was a child, and she is solely a Ukrainian citizen. TW: This story contains references to suicide. Part two: Chrystyna on folk heroes…

  • Bogdan on folk heroes and idiot soldiers

    Part 1: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1 Part 2: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 2 Part 3: A smoke break with Bogdan Part 4: Bogdan on the Civilian Prisoners of War organisation V: When I talk to people from Lviv and Kyiv, they’re quite far from the front. Especially in Lviv, where you…

  • Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 2

    Part 1: Bogdan on his time in captivity: Part 1 Українською мовою: Богхан про свій час у полоні: Частина 2 B: What else is interesting from 2022 that really stuck in my memory, and now I think I probably wouldn’t do something like that again. When the road was being heavily shelled and the last…

  • Jane on food culture

    Jane is a Ukrainian Youtuber. This discussion took place after she released a video on Ukrainian Easter food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUJaCS1NgFc Українською мовою: Джейн розповідає про культуру харчування Vic: Okay, cool. Um, yeah, so, I watched your video that you sent me about like the Easter food traditions. Jane: Mhm. Vic: So it’s something that people have…

  • Brian from New Hampshire

    Brian: When I moved to Kharkiv full time, April 2024, I had brought my Springer Spaniel Annie, with me. We nicknamed her Humanitariannie, and they used to have these little billboards by the sidewalk with Patron photos warning kids about unexploded ordnance and that type of thing. So I got some great photos of my…

  • Jay from The Phoenix

    Jay: Hi, my name is Jay Rivera. I’ve been volunteering in Poland and Ukraine since June 2022, and right now the project I’m working on is the Phoenix. So the Phoenix is a long term stay shelter, but primarily a reintegration centre. What we do is we look at focusing on providing families with safety,…

  • Jay’s Easter Egg hunt

    Jay: We were doing supply runs out to Mykolaiv, and Mykolaiv was under artillery bombardment. We had these Lindt eggs. So we would distribute some just to people, and then if there were like a whole gaggle of kids, we would basically tell them they have to cover their eyes for five minutes, and we’d…