B.C. senior who survived WWII bombing knits to support people enduring war

Adam finds out the explosive story that led to a Saanich senior’s crafty caring.

SAANICH, B.C. — No matter where she goes, Birgitte has been wearing one particular pin.

“I’ve been knitting them now for three years,” she says, showing how the pin looks like tiny knitting needles creating a small Ukrainian flag.

To appreciate why she’s still making them after many people stopped showing their support of the war-torn country, we need to go back 80 years to when Birgitte was growing up in Europe during the Second World War.

That’s when young Birgitte was awoken one night with a bang.

“The bomb came and blew out our windows,” Birgitte recalls.

Birgitte and her brother were alone in their bedroom, facing flames rising from a hole in the floor.

“I said, ‘I can’t move. I can’t move,’” Birgitte imitates her younger self’s voice. “I was absolutely stuck with fear.”

Although her brother was just two years older, he ran to her rescue.

“Then I stopped being frozen,” she says. “He held my hand, and we walked out.”

Birgitte lost her home that day, and by the time she’d reached elementary school had also lost both her parents.

“You had difficulties,” she says. “But you just had to try and learn how to cope.”

Like when Birgitte struggled to learn how to read and write and was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia.

“I’ve never been treated like I was stupid or incapable,” Birgitte says.

Instead, the caring grandparents who raised her encouraged Birgitte to focus on her strengths.

“[My grandmother] taught me how to knit,” Birgitte smiles. “I could do knitting and sewing long before my friends could.”

That support not only inspired Brigitte to purse her passion professionally, it motivated a lifetime of volunteering to help others facing adversity.

“I don’t like things that are not fair,” Birgitte says.

So, when she saw what was happening in Ukraine, she couldn’t help but think of the young girls experiencing war like she once did.

“If I could raise a bit of money doing a little bit of something, why on earth wouldn’t I?” Birgitte recalls thinking.

But Birgitte never imagined her little hand-made flags pins would end up raising a lot of money for the Red Cross in Ukraine.

“Pretty close to having raised $20,000,” Birgitte says.

And the 87-year-old has no plans to quit. Because like her big brother’s bravery, like her grandparents unconditional loving, Birgitte is determined to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

“We all have things that we can do,” Birgitte says. “It may not be something earth-shaking, but at least you’ve tried to do something.”