“It’s a picture of my mom Olga Kovalchuk (in the middle) with her groupmates in technikum (vocational school). She entered Simirenko sovkhoz-tehnikum already married and after giving birth to me. She was an external program student and twice a year she went to take exams.

In this picture my mom is wearing a green dress made from a dense coupon art silk with flower print. She bought the fabric in Shchors, Chernihiv region but the dress itself was made in Voloshka atelier in the village, where her family lived. In the 90s I altered it a few times to fit me. I still have at home a mini-skirt, the last incarnation of this dress. I don’t wear it. Its fabric is not breathable, prickly and feels quite uncomfortable”.

Comment by Halyna Kovalchuk.

This photo is contributed by Halyna Kovalchuk.