© Anton Shynkarenko pour Action contre la Faim
Headline
Supporting women in their economic activity
In Ukraine, 15% of the population suffers from food insecurity, and girls and women are particularly at risk. Maria, Iryna, Victoria, and Olena are among the 45 women who have received training and subsidies to develop their businesses in Mykolaiv, near the front line.
After three years of conflict, continuing hostilities, loss of livelihood and rising prices are exposing the Ukrainian population to an increased risk of impoverishment. In regions close to the front line, such as Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk and Mykolaiv, unemployment has reached record levels, leaving many families without resources.
Women and female-headed households, which have multiplied due to the military mobilization of men, are particularly vulnerable to this growing precariousness. Often lacking resources and coping strategies, women also face obstacles in accessing services. In addition, economic instability, displacement, the deteriorating security situation and the impact on mental health have increased the risk of intimate partner violence, conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking and harassment. Around 2.5 million people in the country are at high risk of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence.
To support women in their economic activity and promote their financial independence, Action Against Hunger (ACF) and the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) are supporting the “Center for Economic Recovery and Business Support” project of the Ukrainian organization Perspektyva in Mykolaiv. In this conflict-affected area, women-led businesses also contribute to economic development by providing essential goods and services and helping to rebuild local economies.
Maria: “Finding a clientele wasn’t easy, but today my schedule is full”
Maria has been a manicurist for 8 years. Originally from Kherson, she had to leave her home and take her three children to Mykolaiv, some sixty kilometers further north, as the city continues to be targeted almost every day by airstrikes. Alone with her three little girls, she had to start all over again.
After a year of hard work, her nail salon is now going strong. “I arrived in a new town, without knowing anyone. Finding a clientele wasn’t easy, but now my diary is full,” Maria explains with pride.
Today, Maria wants to expand her business and take up training, so that she can pass on her knowledge to others. Using a grant from Action Against Hunger, Maria has designed her own training modules and purchased some of the equipment needed to train future manicurists.
“Thanks to the knowledge gained from the project, I’m now able to calculate my expenses more accurately and plan my purchases, as my business requires constant investment. I also know how to better showcase my services in external communication media, and especially on social networks,” adds Maria.
Having herself been displaced by the conflict, Maria is well aware of the difficulties faced by people who have had to flee violence. She therefore wants her services to be accessible to all, and adjusts her rates for displaced people.
© Action contre la Faim
© Action contre la Faim
Iryna: “People heal their souls when they come into contact with creativity”
Iryna worked in the maritime sector for 30 years. When the war started, she found herself widowed and alone with her two children. Iryna decided to change careers and tap into the desire for creativity that had been with her since childhood.
“I became interested in Trashwork, where works are made from garbage, plastic bottles, natural materials, tree branches. I practiced this type of art for about three years and took part in various fairs, traveling around Ukraine”, remembers Iryna.
After the outbreak of the international conflict, Iryna joined the Ukrainian organization Perspektyva as a volunteer. She organized self-help events based on the principles of art therapy. “I saw that people found it more interesting than just talking, they opened up more. And, as the saying goes, people heal their souls when they do something, when they get in touch with creativity”, she confides.
It was then that Iryna discovered the “Center for Economic Recovery and Business Support” project and decided to join. In addition to business training to draw up a business plan, Iryna has taken a painting course and is working on cutting and the various TrashWork techniques. The grant enabled her to buy a laptop and furniture for her creative workshop. In the near future, she will buy a printer and jewelry-making tools.
Iryna would like to collaborate with other Mykolaiv-based artists, inviting them into her studio to give classes. She would also like to continue participating in exhibitions and fairs, and sell her products on online sales platforms.
© Action contre la Faim
© Action contre la Faim
Victoria: “I started my business with a mixer that was lent to me”
Born in Mykolaiv, Victoria worked almost all her life in the civil service. But when she went on maternity leave, she developed a passion for baking. For a long time, Victoria had to juggle raising her children with her professional activity. “My children took up a lot of my time, so sometimes I would make my desserts at night. I once spent six hours sculpting Mickey Mouse. It was very beautiful,” she says with amusement.
When she started out as a pastry chef, Victoria studied production techniques and recipes on her own, but she wasn’t able to take part in pastry classes because she simply couldn’t leave her children alone for long. “In the beginning I had no equipment at all. I started my business with a mixer that someone lent me”, explains Victoria.
To find customers among the cafés, Victoria took the bull by the horns and offered her services directly to them. She now receives numerous orders and supplies desserts to several Mykolaiv cafés. In 2023, she rented premises to manufacture her products. “This premises is close to my home because I want to be near my children at all times in case of air raids”.
As part of the support offered by Perspektyva and Action Against Hunger, funded by DEC, Victoria has benefited from sales training to better manage her business. She bought more equipment to replace the old one, increase her productivity and become more competitive on the market.
© Action contre la Faim
© Action contre la Faim
Olena: “I was able to purchase cosmetic equipment that will allow me to expand my range of services”
Olena was born in Krasnodon, in the Luhansk region. In 1993, she decided to move to Mykolaiv, where she studied, married and held positions as financial manager and sales director. 7 years ago, Olena decided to retrain and entered the field of aesthetic cosmetology.
The building where Olena worked before the large-scale invasion was destroyed by a missile. “Fortunately, my cosmetics and furniture were not damaged,” she says. To escape the bombs, Olena went to Bulgaria for two months and lived in Kyiv for almost 9 months before returning to Mykolaiv, at the request of her customers. She rented a studio and then decided to stay and resume her business.
“I’d like to thank the instructors who accompanied us during the training for their clarity and responsiveness. This new knowledge enabled me to write a business plan and adjust it. I was also able to purchase special cosmetic equipment that will allow me to expand my range of services,” explains Olena.
In the future, Olena hopes to open a new studio and hire employees. She dreams of creating her own chain of cosmetics studios.
© Action contre la Faim
© Action contre la Faim
Ukraine
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