Set up a creative studio and make a dream come true: Anastasiia Stanovska's story

Anastasiia Stanovska is from the village of Opytne, Donetsk oblast. Before the full-scale invasion, Anastasiia worked as a civil servant and then as a manicure artist. But she has always been passionate about art - she has been painting since childhood.

After moving to Dnipro, she began to think about what she wanted to do. But first and foremost, she needed psychological support. So she turned to the NGO Professional Development Fund to get psychological care, to be able to be resourced and to help others.

“Probably, with the war, we all reconsidered our lives. Before, we had everything planned, a stable life, like many families. And now there is uncertainty. It is very important that we have something in our lives that can serve as an inspiration for new development,” Anastasiia says.

Later, Anastasiia took part in “Increasing the resilience of IDP women through productive employment and self-employment" project implemented with the technical support of UN Women Ukraine and funded by the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) to receive grant support for the development of her business.

Now art has filled Anastasiia's life. She established her own art studio and purchased professional equipment. She works there, realizing her artistic dreams and teaching others to realize their creative potential.

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