United to win: Prague’s charity fair raises funds for Ukraine’s armed forces

Recently, the capital of the Czech Republic hosted an autumn charity fair celebrating Ukrainian traditions and raising funds for the needs of Ukraine's armed forces.

Radio Prague International reports this.

What is the problem?

As Halyna Andreitsiv, the head of the public organization "Prague Maidan", said:

"We have one goal – to gather people and raise funds for the armed forces."

What is the solution?

On Saturday, October 19, the youth space "HUB Nusle" of the public organization "Prague Maidan" hosted an autumn charity fair.

The event brought together a variety of intriguing traditions, including traditional headkerchief tying and pumpkin carving. Attendees also had the opportunity to taste borscht, pies, mulled wine, and sweets.

How does it work?

"In Ukraine, this is the time of year when we traditionally celebrate the harvest festival known as "obzhynky." Though it may be a bit late for "obzhynky," we've just finished picking pumpkins, and Halloween is just around the corner. To add to the festivities, we decided to include a pumpkin carving workshop for the children at our party. Of course, we also had Ukrainian cuisine at the fair, which is also very appropriate, because the borscht is rich in all the vegetables that have been harvested. Somehow, everything came together perfectly and it turned out to be a fantastic event," Viktoriia Hnatyshko, the coordinator HUB Nusle, said.

The teenagers who visited HUB Nusle youth space played a major role in organizing and carrying out the event. The youth:

• ran a charity raffle,
• sold food and souvenirs,
• performed at the fair.

Additionally, the evening before the event, a group of young people joined Alina Volokh, a skilled craftsman, in painting and adorning cookies for the fair. Alina explained her cookie-making techniques.

"We participated in the charity fair as a whole team. We brought some honey from Ukraine which added a delightful aroma and flavor to the cookies. Our secret ingredient is that the dough needs to be refrigerated for at least six hours. Once ready, we all joined in to decorate the cookies together with the children. Each of us added our own emotions and ideas to the process. The children were overjoyed to see their cookies being sold at the charity fair and were proud to have contributed to their creation."

The guests particularly enjoyed Yana Yakovenko's masterclass on the art of tying and wearing a traditional Ukrainian headscarf. Yana, a renowned volunteer, ethnographer, and founder of the mobile museum "Rodovid" for Ukrainian attire, led the class. For two decades, Yana has been organizing educational events on ethnology in Zaporizhzhia.

"The Holodomor heavily impacted these regions. Many ethnic Russians were brought in. There are reports of large groups of uprooted individuals. Now, we are all Ukrainian citizens and it is important for us to understand our culture and history. That is the purpose of my project, the mobile museum "Rodovid". Why mobile? Because we travel from school to school, from library to library. Today, I am also showcasing in Prague how Ukrainian women used to tie headscarves a hundred years ago. They were an essential part of women's attire and also served as a hairstyle. Each woman would carefully select the style and color to appear attractive and beautiful."

Yana is convinced that a Ukrainian scarf can be an element of modern clothing:

"Today, too, every woman can choose her own version of kerchief tying and tie modern scarves, modern kerchiefs, in order to feel a sense of belonging to her people."

The master class resonated with the visitors of the fair, Yana says:

"It's another way to see yourself differently. When someone tells me they don't like headscarves, I respond, "You just haven't found the right way to tie it." Seeing a woman transform and realize her potential through a change in appearance is powerful… Well, in addition, these are elements of our Ukrainian culture, this is the thread that connects you with Ukraine now, and this is very important."

Thanks to the fair, the "Prague Maidan" team managed to collect more than 14 thousand crowns for Ukraine's armed forces.

For reference:

The Pokrovky Fair, which took place over two days at Lyceum No. 24 in Zhytomyr, raised nearly 218 thousand hryvnias for the soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces thanks to the efforts of schoolchildren.

In addition, in Zhytomyr, Lyceum No. 10 held a charity autumn fair called "Pumpkin-fest," where students raised 87,650 hryvnias [over $2,000 – ed.] to support the military of Ukraine's armed forces. The festival featured various activities such as a pumpkin porridge competition, the sale of treats, workshops, and an exhibition showcasing crafts made by lyceum students.