A special bench will be placed on the Gedempte Gracht in Zaandam from tomorrow. Fifty Ukrainian women have worked hard over the past nine months on a ‘Social Sofa’: a completely mosaic sofa with no less than 50,000 stones. Friendships have developed during the making of the sofa: “We laughed and cried together.”
Tomorrow marks exactly one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. It resulted in a stream of refugees who were also received in Zaandam. In the Rozenhof in Zaandam, a clothing distribution point was transformed into a meeting center for Ukrainians. They receive language lessons (Dutch and English) and a bench was therefore also made.
The concept of ‘Social Sofa’ has been around for years: the labour-intensive process of making a beautiful mosaic sofa creates connections between people. Coordinator Truus Vegter saw that this bank did not really need much help from her side. The Ukrainian Bogdana Postrygan acted as the driving force. “Normally I often work part of the day, but Bogdana was fantastic. You could put her bed down, so to speak, she was here day and night.”
“Some said it feels like they were rebuilding Ukraine”
NH News spoke Bogdana before. She was already living in the Netherlands when Ukraine was invaded and helps her compatriots where she can. But she’s also having a hard time herself. “The sofa really helped me get through this tough year,” she says. “It’s a great project, when people do this kind of work they open up to others. They start talking and expressing their feelings. We’ve become good friends over this sofa, we hear a lot of stories and are getting closer. We laugh and cry here.”
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The bank is divided into different regions. Each region has its own pattern. Bogdana looks at the bench and continues: “Some said it feels like they were rebuilding Ukraine. And others said when they finished their region that it is now protected. You still know there is war, but you are on something doing it.”
Dutch wine, Ukrainian vodka
“If Russia had thrown another bomb, we as Dutch volunteers would get wine and the Ukrainian women had vodka,” says Truus Vegter. “Sometimes there wasn’t even any mosaicing and just crying or laughing. That’s part of the process and just beautiful.”
The bench will be located at the music dome at the Gedempte Gracht in Zaandam. Prior to the unveiling tomorrow, there will be a memorial moment for the war at Stadhuisplein at 4.30 pm. NH News will be there and will publish a video report later.
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