Svitlana Hovtva's story from Sievierodonetsk - moving from an occupied city and starting her own business from scratch

The full-scale war caught Svitlana Hovtva in her hometown - Sievierodonetsk.

There, she had her own jewelry making studio, fully equipped with professional equipment.

“After I retired, I decided that I wanted to learn the art of creating flowers from foam rubber. It became my inspiration and my main source of income. But the war started. I had to leave,” says Svitlana.

The woman did not want to leave her hometown and her studio, but due to active hostilities, she and her cat had to evacuate under heavy shelling.

That's how she ended up in Dnipro, where she later received grant support from the project of the NGO Professional Development Fund and World Jewish Relief, which was provided with technical support from UN Women Ukraine and funded by the Women's Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).

Svitlana created a new business plan, made calculations and planned the development of her business. And thanks to the grant support, she was able to purchase new equipment and is now back to doing what she loves - creating diverse and colorful jewelry.

Today, Svitlana dreams of renovating her studio, has big plans for the future, and meets with other women to share her experience.

“I often visit the Self-Help Club, meet and communicate with other women who have also relocated. We support each other and share our new volunteering experiences. And we think about how to develop professionally in order to have a stable financial income and contribute to the recovery and development of our country.”

The "Increasing the resilience of IDP women through productive employment and self-employment" project is implementing by NGO "Professional Development Fund" and World Jewish Relief funded by The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) with technical support of UN Women Ukraine. The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) mobilizes critical support for local and grassroots civil society organizations working on women, peace and security and humanitarian action. WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing mechanism supporting quality interventions designed to enhance the capacity of women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities.

Photo: NGO “Professional Development Fund”, World Jewish Relief/Topchiy Tetiana