August 18, 2024
News
When war has destroyed your home and your business and separated you from your family, it is hard not to give up. However, if you strive for change, there are opportunities. The story of Olena from the frontline city in the Kharkiv region proves it. She recently received a mini-grant for training from Caritas Czech Republic to develop a car detailing studio in Uzhhorod.
Olena lost her home and was separated from her son
Olena's family is among the 3.5 million Ukrainians who have been internally displaced by Russia's full-scale invasion. Her town of Chuhuiv, in Kharkiv region, 80 km from the Russian border, has been under constant shelling for two years. Her once cosy private home has been damaged and looted, and her family business is frozen.
"Before the war, we invested a lot of money in our family business, a children's toy store, but due to the war, we were never able to take anything out," Olena recalls. "The shop is located in the city centre, where shells regularly hit," she says.
Olena is 36 years old. She is raising 7-year-old Myroslav and 13-year-old Oleksandr. On 24 February 2022, the family was woken by terrible explosions and flashes. The enemy attacked a military town and an airfield not far from their home.
"Missiles were flying and flashing before our eyes. My eldest son's hands were trembling from the sirens; he was screaming..." Olena continues.
The war separated Olena from her eldest son Oleksandr, who was unable to stay in Ukraine after what he had experienced. The boy decided to go to Germany with his grandmother. He visits his family occasionally in Uzhhorod, in the safer western part of Ukraine, or Olena goes to see him abroad.
Experience in the car business as a way to get back on the ground
The family moved to Uzhhorod, in the western part of the country, far from the frontline. Like 82 percent of internally displaced people, Olena struggled to find work that matched her experience in her new location. However, she was not used to sitting idle: before the war, Olena had led an active social and entrepreneurial life. In addition to selling toys for children, she provided delivery and drop-off of car service and car detailing with her husband Yurii. He is a mechanical engineer. In Uzhhorod, the couple sought an opportunity to revive their business.
"Cars are what we have been doing all our lives," says Olena. With the war, some of our clients went abroad and entrusted us with preparing their cars for sale, but it was hard to find a quality car wash in Uzhhorod," she recalls.
That is how the family came up with the idea to open a detailing studio, a service rapidly growing in Ukraine.
"Detailing is dry cleaning and procedures that keep a car in good condition and extend its service life," explains Olena.
A new lease on life and a source of income
Thanks to her active volunteering, Olena learned about grants for internally displaced people in the Transcarpathian region and tried her hand at one of the competitions. The family received funds to buy equipment and chemicals and opened a car dry cleaner at the new location.
She always strives to gain new knowledge and was happy to have the opportunity to improve her skills. Olena received a mini-grant for internally displaced people for a short-term education from Caritas Czech Republic and was one of the 32 participants from the war zone who completed a course on the basics of car detailing.
"When you are a refugee and have no funds for your development, such support is vital," Olena believes. "It was not easy to study, but now I am confident in serving clients," she says, advising not to be afraid and to "knock on all doors.“
The family opened a car detailing studio, The Car Spa. Here, Olena takes on the roles of administrator, advertiser, and detailing specialist.
"When our clients are happy and recommend us, it feels like a birthday greeting. I'm euphoric!" Olena says, smiling.
She dreams of the war ending soon, reuniting with her son, running a successful business, and building a new home.
Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, millions of Ukrainians had to flee their homes in the war zone and move to other regions or abroad. Some cities have been destroyed by massive shelling.
Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine is helping Ukrainians affected by the war. We provide shelter in modular houses in Western Ukraine, improve living conditions in dormitories, and meet the urgent needs of people in frontline and de-occupied communities in the South of Ukraine. We also support active displaced people in restoring their source of income through mini-grants for professional development for employment or setting up a small business.
You can also support displaced families in Ukraine and help with us!
