The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than 3 years now. Russia started the full invasion on 24 February 2022. Since then, millions of Ukrainians have emigrated from their country, but many still find their way to keep connected with their homeland and help from afar. One of them is Ingrid Abuladze, who moved to the Netherlands a few months before the war started.<\/p>\n
Ingrid moved to the Netherlands in August 2021 as she found a job here as a software engineer, got a visa, and began her new life. But only a few months later, in February 2022, her life changed completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2025\/09\/IMG_9031.jpeg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”400px” align=”right” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”Packages from Ingrid Abuladze\u2019s slow-fashion brand Boeken en Broeken, prepared for delivery. Photo taken by the author.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
When the war started, her whole family was still in Ukraine. Two weeks after Russia\u2019s invasion, her father evacuated her mother and 12-year-old brother onto a train reserved for women and children. At first, he promised that he would also leave when there was a chance. But later, Ingrid discovered that he had joined the army \u2013 \u201cHe lied to us. As a family we weren\u2019t happy. But as citizens we understood.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ingrid recalls that everyone in the Netherlands was lost at first, they didn\u2019t know how to help. The first thing she did was go to a rally in The Hague, near the parliament and the Russian consulate. She remembers it felt pointless at first as only a few people joined. But then a Dutch politician came out of Parliament and spoke to them \u2013 \u201cHe told us that it\u2019s right to go to rallies, because it\u2019s easier for them to make decisions if they see that people demand this.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n After the rallies, Ingrid felt like she could do more. She and her friends decided to collect humanitarian aid like baby formula and diapers. \u201cEveryone needed so many things: medicine, supplies, food. It was just a catastrophe,\u201d <\/em>Ingrid says. They also volunteered to meet refugees at train stations who didn\u2019t speak Dutch or English well and helped them to coordinate with the Red Cross.<\/p>\n Soon, Ingrid\u2019s support became even more personal. At first, her dad was hiding the problems from the family. He kept saying everything was fine and they had all they needed. Later, he asked Ingrid for small pieces of equipment, which she and her friends bought with their own money. But in August, the request became much bigger: \u201cHe suddenly said it was urgent, they needed a car. I remember thinking, I had no idea how to buy a car, especially a military one. That was when we created our first fundraiser. In three or four days we collected enough. The car was later used in the Kharkiv counteroffensive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2025\/09\/IMG_9022-1.jpeg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”350px” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”Ingrid Abuladze working on Boeken en Broeken designs at her sewing machine, with her cat keeping her company. Photo taken by the author.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n\n\n Out of these experiences, a new idea was born: a slow-fashion brand called Boeken en Broeken.<\/strong> \u201cWhen I was learning Dutch on Duolingo, there was this phrase \u2018Boeken en Broeken.\u2019<\/em> (meaning \u201cBooks and Pants\u201d) It was meaningless, but I liked it. I even tweeted that if I ever had a fashion brand, I would call it that,\u201d<\/em> Ingrid says.<\/p>\n\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2025\/09\/IMG_8955-scaled-e1758208297199.jpeg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”60%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”Photoshoot for Boeken en Broeken. Photo taken by the author.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n The brand offers handmade pieces such as detachable collars, crochet earrings, and corsets. Ingrid often uses upcycled secondhand fabrics. Some sewing is even done in Ukraine, making the project a way to support people back home. \u201cI think businesses should be socially responsible. Each year we donate 10% of our profit to the Ukrainian Armed Forces,\u201d <\/em>Ingrid adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Although she lives in the Netherlands, her heart remains in Ukraine. Through fundraising and her fashion brand, she has found a way to stay connected. \u201cI cannot fight like my father, but I can support him and others,\u201d<\/em> Ingrid says. \u201cAnd that is what keeps me going.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Named after a funny Duolingo phrase meaning \u201cBooks and Pants\u201d in Dutch, Boeken en Broeken is the slow-fashion brand through which Ingrid Abuladze supports her homeland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3774,"featured_media":18292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n