Adaptive clothing for the military: how a volunteer from Odesa helps the wounded

Svitlana Fomenko is a volunteer from Odesa, co-founder of the NGO Territory of Unbreakability. She traveled to Kherson and Mykolaiv region immediately after the de-occupation and helped the sick before the arrival of Médecins Sans Frontières. Now she sews adaptive clothing for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and delivers it to hospitals free of charge. Intent discussed why it is important now and what difficulties she has encountered.

Why did you decide to make adaptive clothing for the rehabilitation of the military?

Adaptive clothing is functional clothing (T-shirts, T-shirts, pants, shorts) for wounded soldiers that is comfortable during rehabilitation. Such clothing can be used as underwear, where everything is velcroed instead of seams. It is made mainly for the wounded lying under the machines, so that they can easily unfasten a piece of clothing. It does not press, it is convenient to make bandages, change devices, service, treat the wound, etc. In addition, adaptive clothing allows you not to undress completely, because after an injury it is very difficult.

I received such a request as a volunteer in September 2024. At that time, we found a place to make these clothes and sent them to the hospital. And then the request started to grow. I realized that it was needed.

When did you open your sewing shop?

It started in December. I took my daughter to school and then went for a walk with my dog. There I met a man who offered to help me, promising that he would sew at home. We began to calculate the fabrics, and then came to the conclusion that we should open a workshop. The idea was to make tracksuits and use the proceeds to make clothes for the Armed Forces.

My failed partner has a dog named Tina, and I have a dog named Daisy. That's how the name "TinDay" came about. On December 13, I signed a lease agreement, and on January 13, the first sewing work began. On February 22, we made the first photo shoot of our tracksuits. After that, we started making adaptive clothing.

What happened to your partner? Did he let you down?

He wanted to shoot only the cream of the crop, without investing. That is, he didn't even want to invest any effort, let alone money.

How many people do you employ now?

Currently, there are four, plus packaging, so there are five in total.

Where do you supply adaptive clothing?

To the City Clinical Hospital No. 11 and the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Southern Region. We sew up to 120 pieces of adaptive clothing per month. We would like to do more, but that's how it is for now. We do it for free, we have no income. Everything is at my expense. Fabric, seamstresses' salaries, utility bills, etc.

And the demand is really high, there are a lot of wounded. We can sew the necessary amount, work with the patterns of the sewing company, for which we are sincerely grateful, and buy good fabric. It is soft, with minimal elastane added, does not fray, does not stretch and retains its shape so that the wounded do not feel compression. My premises allow me to set up another 6-7 workplaces. The seamstresses already know us and come for recommendations.

But in order to sew these, we need orders for regular clothes, so that something goes to the "volunteer".

Are there any private orders for adaptive clothing?

Yes, we had seven such orders. Military units and hospitals do not buy such things.

Why not? Tell us how it works.

A wounded man gets to the hospital. And this is not a task for the unit, this is a task for the medical institution. They don't buy anything, we give it to them for free. So this is, in fact, a purely volunteer case. They ask us what they need. We agree with them that we can, for example, deliver 60 units.

Currently, the actions of officials are aimed at complicating everything. If we used to call hospitals and discuss supplies, then they would write me a request, now everything has to be coordinated with the Health Department. I don't know how to do this yet, so we have given all the sewn kits. In general, we plan to test these innovations at our 11th hospital.

Do you cooperate with any volunteers? Does anyone else help you?

No, because now it is very difficult for everyone. People have finally stopped donating. The issue is the lack of trust. Plus, the cost of living is rising rapidly, and earnings are not very good, people are tired.

You're talking about such an important thing as trust. Do you think volunteering has tarnished itself?

Unfortunately, a huge number of people who call themselves volunteers are not being honest. Every time something comes up, it affects all volunteers. Everything here is based on the principle that once one stigma is in the cannon, the others are the same.

How long have you been in the volunteer movement?

Since November 2020. Very closely since 2022. We started traveling with volunteer help when Kherson and the Snihuriv community of the Bashtanka district of Mykolaiv region were liberated - the 3% of Mykolaiv region that was under occupation. At that time, I was working at the Express-clinic. We had a car, and I persuaded the director to use it to visit people.

Svitlana Fomenko and Iryna Stasiuk (from right to left) with a colleague

My colleague Iryna Stasiuk and I would go there either together or in turns. There was also a team of doctors who were ready to go with us for free. We went to examine people, because after the occupation, everyone had health problems, we collected and took tests, brought medicines. At that time, they did not receive any help at all.

Do you go there now?

No, there is no reason to go there now, because everything has basically settled down. State medicine and Médecins Sans Frontières are working.

Did you come up with the idea of the adaptive device after that?

Yes, after these trips there was a lull and I had a feeling that I was no longer needed. Actually, then the idea of the adaptive device was born, because there were requests. I realized the importance and need for it. But at first I just helped to find contractors. Then I did the math and realized that it was expensive. That's how I came up with the idea to do it myself. That's how I got the feeling that I was needed and doing something important.

I understand from your recent posts on Facebook that everything can stop at any time and you need help?

When we opened, my husband supported me with his studio. But now Ihor is in the army, so all subsidies have stopped. I took out a big loan to get started-to buy fabrics and so on. And it turns out that now all operating expenses, loans, and the entire sewing shop have to pay for themselves. I can't do it all on my own.

After the post that I needed help because I was left alone, there was a flood of orders. Now there is a lull again. There is simply no money to sew for, because the fabric is very expensive. Seamstresses still have to get paid. We have two trainees, but they work under the table.

Do you sew at all?

I learned to sew just two weeks ago, when we were running out of time. It was the first time I sat down at a sewing machine. I managed to do it. I mastered the straight stitch and overlock. A kind of crash course for a young soldier.

Although all my life I was sure that I couldn't even sew on a button. It was much more interesting for me to cut something with a jigsaw, work with a perforator or a screwdriver, but not to sew.

What do you think will be the most relevant requests for volunteers in the future?

Given the intensity of the current military operations, our demand will definitely not be exhausted. Adaptive clothing is essentially personalized. We have now conducted an analysis and found out that we need to make suits one or two sizes smaller, as the guys lose a lot of weight after being wounded.

What is the most important thing for you?

The most important thing is the feeling that I am needed. This is all that always drives me.

This desire to help comes from the depths of my childhood. And it is the feeling of importance and need that sits very deep somewhere.

I very often encounter hate that what I do is to promote myself and make money. Unfortunately, it's impossible to make money on this.

All photos provided by the interviewee

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