Ukrainians in Singapore organise garage sale to raise funds and promote sustainability

SINGAPORE – Visitors stepping into a warehouse unit in Upper Paya Lebar at the weekend were greeted by Ms Iana Kostrytska, who was modelling one of the self-designed T-shirts she was selling at the garage sale fund-raiser.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?” she asks.

But behind her cheery disposition lies a story of resilience. Ms Kostrytska, 36, lives in Singapore with her husband and four-year-old son, but has family back in war-torn Ukraine.

Every day in the morning and evening, she checks for a text message from her brother and calls her parents, who live in Kyiv.

“A few weeks ago, two to three houses were destroyed near my mother’s house, and I am worried it might happen to my family. Every day, we pray and hope the war would end,” she said.

In January, Ms Kostrytska’s best friend was killed while fighting the war. This reason compelled her younger brother to enlist in the army.

She said: “It’s difficult, because I understand men need to fight because it is our country and we need to stand up. But I am also worried because he is so young and needs to study.

“I’m proud, but it is my pain. Sometimes I want to cry, but I need to stay strong and brave. He is 21 years old, and he is braver than me.”

To cope with the stress, she turns to a group of Ukrainian friends, who comfort and support one another. They help by offering to cook meals for Ms Kostrytska’s family, and sometimes care for her son so that she can take a breather.

She and her friends are part of an informal group of about 20 that got together to organise a garage sale at the weekend to raise money to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

The proceeds from the garage sale will go towards supporting an orphanage and 75-year-old Japanese humanitarian volunteer Fuminori Tsuchiko, who opened a free cafe, FuMi Caffe, which serves about 500 people a day in Kharkiv.

The idea of organising a garage sale came from Ms Karshyga Shakirzhanova, a Singaporean who has Kazakhstan roots, who co-organised the garage sale with Ukrainian Olesya Lyashevich, 37.

Ms Lyashevich, who has lived here for four years, said: “We are so far away from home we can’t help much, so activities like this help to support each other and gives a feeling of contribution.”

“Last year I was in a state of distress – I just read news and cried all the time. And Karshyga had this idea that we could help, so the garage sale really brought me back to life, and for some other girls as well, At least we felt like we are doing something, not just reading news,” she added.

“Mr Tsuchiko is 75 years old – imagine that – and his cafe runs on donations. So we wanted to support him to show that we really appreciate it when people do things like moving to our country to help in such a difficult moment.”

It took about two weeks for the group to source items such as clothes, shoes, toys and household appliances, which were sold for as low as 50 cents. There was also a corner for free Items, as the team wanted to promote sustainability. 

Ms Lyashevich, a mother of two children aged five and seven, tried to recreate the homely experience of a garage sale by offering free drinks and some Ukrainian delicacies to visitors. Children were also welcome to bring and exchange books, clothes and toys.

Mirroring Poland’s support for Ukraine in the war, Polish businesswoman Joanna Szwaja-Jacuta extended help to Ms Lyashevich’s cause by offering her warehouse space for the garage sale.

The two women had met a year ago at an event that aimed to educate people about the Ukraine war and have since become friends.

“Garage sales were common in communist Poland in the seventies because there was nothing in the shops, so we were just exchanging stuff,” said Ms Szwaja-Jacuta, who runs healthy food company Sedno Food.

She added: “There are some things that you can just buy second-hand and enjoy as much as those which are on the shelf, but at least you won’t have to worry that our mother earth will suffer as much.”

After seeing an Instagram post by @ukrainian_events_sg calling for donations for items to sell at the garage sale, 29-year-old Andrew Tan wrote in to ask if he could donate items for sale. He brought two pairs of shoes and a bag of clothes on Saturday.

“Being involved in local events by Ukrainians is more meaningful because we know where the proceeds will ultimately go,” he said.

To thank him, Ms Lyashevich handed Mr Tan a glass of wine and a crepe.

Ms Patricia Aw, 42, brought her six-year-old son Ruhan on Saturday after hearing about the garage sale from her friend.

Ms Aw said she spent about $50 on clothes, shoes and toys and counts her pair of shoes as her favourite buy.

“The stuff is of good quality. We are quite happy to shop because the money will help the Ukrainians.

Another shopper was 47-year-old Dedre Foo, who purchased clothes, shoes and kitchenware on Saturday. 

“I was very excited to bring my mum... She has never been to a garage sale, (and this event) also lets her see different cultures interact,” she said.

“I think this garage sale is meaningful because in Singapore, a lot of people want to buy only new things. What someone does not want can be precious to someone else, so it would be good if you are able to give it a second life. This should be practised more,” added Ms Foo, who used to visit garage sales weekly while she lived in Australia for seven years.

Ms Lyashevich said that the two-day event drew around 70 attendees, and raised $2,260.

“It is so amazing that you can help somebody with a little bit of effort. You don’t have to do something crazy. While having fun getting good deals, you’re actually helping people,” she added.

“I think we should all be grateful that we live in a safe place and if we all have enough, we can share.”

She said: “We are sustainable and we generate some money that can help somebody who doesn’t have food. It’s a very rare opportunity to have something where everybody benefits.”