LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Hobbies can be rewarding for lots of reasons - making music, woodworking, joining a book club. They can help us relax, find community and express our creativity. Teri Schultz reports on one group of hobbyists in Belgium whose work winds up on the front line of a war.
TERI SCHULTZ: On the outskirts of Brussels, Kotryna Vilnonyte is gathered with a group of friends, surrounded by snacks, practicing their new handicraft.
KOTRYNA VILNONYTE: My one colleague - she likes knitting. And I make drones.
SCHULTZ: That's right - Vilnonyte makes drones. By day, she works as an interpreter. But many weekends now, she's putting together 40-inch drones and teaching other people how to do it, too. Participants asked NPR not to identify their nationalities or workplaces, as they consider this a private activity.
VILNONYTE: So let's take each drone and see what's missing.
SCHULTZ: A couple of years ago, heartbroken and frightened by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vilnonyte says she couldn't just sit idly by. So she and a handful of friends put together a bit of money, bought parts and taught themselves how to construct drones to send to Ukrainian soldiers. They assembled themselves into a nonprofit called Wings for Europe to try to raise more money and awareness.
VILNONYTE: You come, in three hours make a drone and save 10 lives. So this is a meaningful hobby. It was personal decision for each of us, saying, yes, I can do this. I have to do this. This is what I want to do. And it's not being afraid. We just act.
SCHULTZ: On this day, groups of dedicated volunteers have come from as far as three hours away to participate. Often, production parties are held in living rooms or garages. Some people just take the parts home and put them together by themselves while watching TV at night. But despite the keen interest in this project, Bart Trakymas (ph), another of the organizers, still fears too many Europeans think this war is not relevant for them. He insists it's more efficient to equip Ukraine now.
BART TRAKYMAS: We need to ensure that Ukrainians have enough tools to defend themselves in Europe, and then we have no other war. Otherwise, we'll have another war deeper in Europe.
SCHULTZ: He's giving the finished models a flight test - their final stage before getting packed up.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONES BUZZING)
SCHULTZ: Once the drones get the OK, they often also get a name. They each cost a little over $400.
TRAKYMAS: We did fundraising in a squash club - gathered money, got a name - Squasher - on the drone. Everyone happy.
SCHULTZ: For some of the volunteers, their mission is even more personal. Sviatoslav Harasymchuk is a Ukrainian living in Belgium.
And how does it feel to know that you're helping people back home?
SVIATOSLAV HARASYMCHUK: I feel that I am still not doing enough because there are people there that are giving their lives. And I'm just giving, like, one day of the week, and it is nothing. It doesn't matter. So, yeah, I still think that I can do more. And, yeah, I think that other people can also do more.
SCHULTZ: But their efforts are keenly appreciated. Videos from Ukrainian soldiers adorn the group's social media and fundraising pages. Sometimes such deliveries have been made by members of the European Parliament, who hand-carried the drones to Kyiv on an official visit.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Our gratitude to Wings for Europe for those drones. Really appreciate your help. Merci beaucoup pour les drones.
SCHULTZ: Donors also receive a handmade gift from Wings for Europe. Ukrainian refugee children in Belgium have made origami thank-yous - hearts with arms outstretched.
For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN")
CREED: (Singing) I'll show you everything with arms wide open - with arms wide open. Well, I don't know... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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