Defying the Crisis in Ukraine with Courage and Business Acumen
As I get off the train, a gentle breeze blows on my cheeks. The sun is shining and the platform is teeming with people on their way to buy a to-go coffee or hugging a loved one goodbye. It feels like a perfectly normal, beautiful fall afternoon. But Kharkiv's vaulted railroad station is anything but ordinary: Located just forty kilometers from the Russian border, the air raid sirens can go off here at any time. When they go off, people soberly check their apps. It's a drone attack, writes Maksym, the Helvetas security officer, as he suggests we take cover. My own cell phone app barks instructions: Go to the shelter immediately!
The February air was bitter cold when a rocket hit a multistory apartment building last year. Ophelia's apartment was destroyed. The rubble of concrete and glass also swallowed her tailor shop in the same building. But at least Ophelia and her husband Andrej were able to move into his construction workshop. There was space there, since Andrej's tiling business had come to a standstill when the invasion began.
Ophelia and Andrej call Kharkiv their home—they never thought of leaving. But when their savings ran out, they had to find a way to make a living. Using her own recipes, Ophelia began making and selling ready meals that won over everyone who tried them. To set up their business, however, the couple needed a little start-up capital to set up a proper kitchen. Despite their zest for action, no bank was willing to help them. Kharkiv is located in the “red zone,” and granting loans is simply too risky for established financial institutions.
So they turned to Helvetas and its partner, the Kharkiv Employers' Association. Through this support, Ophelia and Andrej received business advice and a loan of $2,800. Andrej used the materials he bought with the loan to build most of the kitchen himself.
“I can't get enough of this induction stove,” Ophelia says happily. The kitchen is spotlessly clean, the ventilation works perfectly, and the generator is ready to switch on if the power fails. “They have managed to maintain high hygiene standards,” explains Anastasia Kostiuchenko, the program manager at Helvetas Ukraine. The food is neatly packed in well-labeled jars and vacuum-sealed bags. And the yellow and blue Ukrainian ribbon that is part of the packaging is more than just a decoration—it's a statement.
The couple's entrepreneurial spirit has prevailed despite the harsh economic reality so close to the front line. They have built a virtual business on social media and sell their products through the Ukrainian postal service, which amazingly is still efficient. Ophelia has already hired an employee. She proudly shows us the room where she is now planning an extension to the kitchen, which this time will be financed from her company's own cash flow.
The evening is still balmy when we say goodbye, and my stomach is squeaking with liverwurst-induced satisfaction. While the people of Kharkiv cling to a normal life under the bombs, they could certainly do with some good fortune. Luckily, Ophelia's kitchen stays right where it is.
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