Daria Kosyakova, co-founder of Repair Together: "Our goal is to make volunteering a lifestyle"

In April, Daria Kosyakova went to a clean-up event in de-occupied villages in Chernihiv Oblast. A month later, together with her friends, she created the organization Repair Together. She brought together volunteers, found money, and helps people who lost their homes to have a roof over their heads again. She has been doing all of this to the sound of rave.

Together with Dasha, we went to Lukashivka, Chernihiv Oblast, where her team is rebuilding destroyed houses. We invite you to read this article to find out how they fought for the trust of local residents, how Repair Together works, as well as how girls at the construction site perform “non-female” job.

A tube from an anti-tank guided missile instead of a vase

Daria Kosyakova is a creative person. We can see work in progress on an easel in her apartment in the center of Kyiv. There’s a puzzle on the coffee table. The girl works mainly on the floor near the fireplace which she lights once or twice a week. She practices yoga here and holds meetings with the Repair Together team.

Empty shells brought from the de-occupied territories after clean-up days serve as candlesticks and vases. There is even a tube from an anti-tank guided missile, in which the houseplant lives. Daria’s favorite vase is charred and melted, it burned during the occupation. When they arrived at the newly liberated territory, they walked around the streets and collected “presents” from Russians. Once, Dasha collected a basket of shell casings. Under the table in the room, there is a BTR-2 wheel.

Daria has two cats: the Sphynx cat Kirya and Rave, a cat from the liberated village of Yahidne. He was small and sick, he would not have survived, the girl just wanted to treat him, but finally decided to keep him.

“Close the window and that’s it”

Dasha is from Sverdlovsk, Luhansk Oblast. Many of her relatives remained in the occupied Luhansk Oblast. In 2014, she graduated from high school and moved to Kyiv to study at a university.

“When I lived at home and heard these explosions, my father would say: “Close the window and that’s it.” And I didn’t have any trauma or fear, I didn’t understand anything at all.” 

Back then, in Dasha’s hometown, some people organized rallies with the flag of Ukraine, while others organized pro-Russian rallies.

“These were radically different communities of people. But I didn’t join any of them. And then, after 2014, I started communicating with people more.”

The girl remained apolitical. In Kyiv, she did not go to the polls, she was studying and building her career. Then, she became interested in architecture and once got to a rally against illegal construction.

“So gradually puzzle took shape in my head. And the war brought me to reality, like many others, as if saying: “So, you’re apolitical? What’s wrong with you?”

During her first years in Kyiv, Daria studied to become an accountant. In the 3rd year, she began to master Photoshop and Illustrator programs. When she was still a student, she got a job as a designer at Genesis. She enjoyed working for the company, but with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the girl started to look for her place again.

How did the Repair start?

Dasha’s friend invited her once to go with him to a clean-up event — to the villages that needed to be restored after the Russians left. That’s where it all started. Then, there was an Instagram page about a team that helps residents of de-occupied villages and towns, and the first sponsors. Officially, the charitable organization Repair Together was created on April 30.

“Our first partner was Lenovo, but they couldn’t provide us with anything because first, we had to get a legal status,” Daria explains.

At first, Repair volunteers brought necessary things to the affected regions and helped some people with construction materials, or money, but at some point, they started thinking about building new housing for residents of Chernihiv Oblast.

“We heard stories about people who had no place to spend the winter. Among them, there are families with small children. Just imagine: you had a house and it doesn’t exist anymore. Winter is coming. I look out the window and realize that people are panicking because they have nowhere to live. It scares me. I think: what if it happened to me? What would I do? How grateful would I be if someone helped me?”

Repair does not restore the houses as they were before the shelling. There are projects for 30, 40, and 60 м², and the houses are designed so that they can be completed later. Repair camps last from Thursday to Sunday and volunteers spend the night at a school or stay with the village residents. The volunteer movement “Building Ukraine Together” helps to rebuild two houses, its repairmen are here all the time. Repair recently signed an agreement with the German foundation to sponsor 9 homes. Therefore, the team is determined to build a total of 18 objects — without taking into account modular houses.

Breaking the barriers between the village and the city

At first, communication between volunteers and locals was not easy. People didn’t want to accept help even after what they experienced: “They thought that they had worked all their lives to live well on their own. And then, some young people came and said that they would help”. They had to earn the trust of the villagers because a bunch of volunteers and journalists would come, film everything on cameras and leave: “It was very difficult to convince them that we would come back”. Therefore, volunteers patiently walked around the villages and collected requests for targeted assistance. People saw how they worked, cleared the streets, and started gradually trusting. After the 5th clean-up event, people warmly welcomed them and treated them to homemade products.

“People are grateful, they are pleased, and so are we! I live in Kyiv, I open the refrigerator — and I can find homemade sour cream there.”

Another barrier was the appearance of the volunteers: tattoos, colored hair, and strange clothes.

“The chairman of the village council was informed: “Some kind of convicts came here, why do we need them?” However, after two or three clean-up events, a man in his fifties approached our guy and very politely, with interest, asked: “Listen, your nose is pierced. What does that mean? I don’t mean to offend you, I am just curious.” He was embarrassed, but he started breaking through this barrier.”

That’s how people start breaking stereotypes.

“Our symbol today is granny Nadia. Anyone who volunteers and comes here (to the village of Lukashivka — ed.) knows her by her fragrant dumplings and delicious food. Her house was not damaged, we worked on other sites. Granny Nadia came out to us with dumplings, jam, and cucumbers. If she sees me on the street, she’s like, “Oh, Dasha, let’s go, let’s have a drink, I’ll give you something to eat!” And it is very inspiring that the villagers do not cry, but smile, although it is difficult for everyone. Nadia baked us a cake for the 10th clean-up event. We took her with us to the festival base, and she danced with us there.”

When we arrive in Lukashivka, Daria meets the granny Nadia. The woman hugs her, Dasha gives Nadia a bottle of wine, and Nadia invites her to come and stay for the night if necessary.

Dasha and I are going to the place where her foundation is building houses in Lukashivka. We meet an 11-year-old girl. Her cat just had kittens. Dasha brought them toys, a crib, and food.

On the way, Daria continues her story: “We announced the latest clean-up event as the grand final because it’s getting colder, says the volunteer. — People gathered after work, and hung out at the school opposite the House of Culture, there were DJs. Locals came, thanked us, everyone was happy, dancing... even a local ensemble came. They played the accordion and sang songs to us. And they were especially grateful because they performed in this House of Culture for the first time in 10 years. And we think that maybe this year we will organize more clean-up events because it cheers people up very much.”

The volunteers got permission from the local territorial defense to hold these late discos after the clean-up events. They warn rescuers and ask to demine the territory before volunteers arrive. Once, there was an incident — a clean-up event participant found a mortar mine behind the House of Culture and took it in his hand. Fortunately, it didn’t explode.

Rave culture at times of war

Restoration requires both hands and money. Artists and famous people start cooperating with Repair.

“They liked the idea of a lean-up event. And when they saw that we also hold cultural events — both for volunteers and local residents — then Onuka started coming and Rita Muradova gave lectures.”

Artist thekomakoma announced the release of his album when he collects the amount we need. He has already transferred more than 300 thousand hryvnias to the organization.

“The goal of Repair is to turn volunteering into a lifestyle. We want people to perceive it not as a job, but as a way of life, when you can have a cool weekend: work, socialize, relax.” Volunteers come here not only to help but also to meet new people and find like-minded people. There are already about 5 thousand people in the organization’s volunteer chat.

Repair is unique in the sense that people are united by music. We have our community that reflects the war-time rave culture, says Daria. Until February 24, the rave was for Daria a chance to rest and release her energy. She didn’t even have breakfast without music.

At home, the girl has a disco ball and a smoke machine. With the beginning of a full-scale war, Dasha did not stop loving this music. And the rave reached a new level — it helps construction and draws attention to the consequences of enemy aggression.

“At first, the locals couldn’t understand the raves after clean-up events. It looked like fun and thrill. They said we were crazy. “How can you have fun at such a time?” But for us, it’s not about fun.”

Residents got used to it and started coming to listen to the music. In the Repair photos, farmers dance with children and the elderly.

“We wanted to help not just rebuild — we wanted to see people smile after they had been through so much. When people started singing along and applauding at our concerts, it was like a child got up and started walking. I do not know how I would have survived such traumas myself. I see people smile — and I’m very happy.”

Any goal can be achieved, regardless of gender

From June to October, Daria had only 5 days off. She works non-stop but does not burn out, because she feels in her place. They are making a film about their experience of Repair Together, it will be sent to different festivals. They are currently recruiting a team and looking for documentary filmmakers.

“By the way, statistics show that the majority of volunteers in camps and clean-up events are women. That’s why I got this idea for the project that I am currently leading. It’s unfair that nobody emphasizes that girls do such cool things,” says Daria and adds that she faced the problem of gender inequality while volunteering. In the beginning, nobody noticed her at volunteer meetings. “You come to a meeting and it’s like you don’t exist. They don’t say hello to you. At first, I was offended. Then, when I would see this, I would say loudly: “Hi! I’m Dasha, nice to meet you.” To show that I was there.”

Dasha wanted to try everything on clean-up events. When she was chopping wood, the guys would take the axe from her saying “Let me help you!” They wanted the best, but the girl didn’t ask them: “Everyone is surprised when you come and uproot a tree because it is a “non-female” job. But over time, this started changing. Now, some guys cook food, and girls work on construction sites, Kosyakova says.

“And it’s not that a girl is as strong as a man. It’s to show that a person can achieve any goal, regardless of gender. Some people use their physical force, other people would rather ask a friend to help, and someone will use their ingenuity. There are different tools to achieve the same goal. But in our country, a somewhat patriarchal world, it turned out that, for a long time, only men could achieve some things. And sometimes women don’t even know what they’re capable of.”

Within their future project, Repair volunteers will not only build houses and make a film about it but also conduct training for local residents on human rights and domestic violence. Kosyakova hopes that this will make people understand that equality between a woman and a man is normal.

“I’m especially happy when I see social changes. When we talk about equality and tolerance for LGBT communities, when I see how people from the city, young people from the city, interact with the countryside — it all brings progressive social changes that give me more joy and confidence that by such actions we are moving the country forward.”

The partner material is published as an advertisement. The article was created in collaboration with the UN Women project “Decentralization Reforms and Community Security: Transformative Approaches to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Ukraine” funded by the Danish government.

Journalist Yulia Kuzmenko, editors Khrystyna Kotsira and Victoria Beha, designer Tetiana Kostik, creative producer Anna Sokha, and translator Khrystyna Skorenka worked on the material.