In the words of Bohdana Korop: “The war showed each of us that we are much stronger and more resilient than we seem at first glance”

Economist, teacher, scientist, head of the public organization "Center for Creativity and Intellectual Development".

I was born in Vyzhnytsky district, Chernivtsi region. I am an economist, teacher, scientist, head of the public organization "Center for Creativity and Intellectual Development".

Vizhnytsa community is rather small, only 17,000 people live here. But this did not prevent our community, when a full-scale invasion began, to immediately join in helping and accepting internally displaced persons. Many people were looking for shelter and help. According to preliminary estimates, these are about 3,000 internally displaced persons from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Sumy, Siverodonetsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhya, and Dnipro. There are many women with children, people of retirement age and people with disabilities. Of course, the life of our community has changed.

I combine social work with the work of an economist.

I have been working in the field of education for over 11 years. I have always had a desire to learn and teach others. In 2019, our public organization received the first funding from the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and we had the opportunity to organize an exchange between the youth of the Chernivtsi region and students of the Pryaszew University (Poland), in particular, visit the Podkarpackie Science and Technology Park. Since then, I and our public organization have chosen the area of entrepreneurship development, especially support and education for women who want to start their own business.

My goal is to show that it is not necessary to move abroad, somewhere to earn money, but you can realize yourself in business in Ukraine, even during the war.

Since the fall of 2021, we have begun to cooperate with the «Rural Women’s Business Network» public association to assess the needs of women in society and motivate women to participate in events. Now I am helping with the coordination of women in the Chernivtsi region in the framework of the UN Women project “Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment through Decentralization Reform of Ukraine”.

One of the results of the needs assessment was that women want to start their own business. An example for me was a woman – a forced migrant from Rubizhne, the founder of her own brand of children’s swings. When she moved to us, she did not give up, did not lose her heart, but resumed her own business and now has orders from Ukraine and abroad. Women’s entrepreneurial initiatives need support and a start for business. This aspiration needs grants and comprehensive support from the state and foreign donors, because such initiatives lead to the development of communities.

For me, a rural woman is a creative woman, and it does not depend on what she does. She always creates her own world around, her own business, raises children, grows vegetables or does business. This is a female fighter who, despite events, weather and other external factors, is always ready to become a support, she is invincible and ready to act. The war showed each of us that we are much stronger and more resilient than we seem at first glance. A rural woman is not so easily intimidated by difficulties, because she is always inclined to look for and find opportunities, non-standard solutions.

The war forced each of us to gain undiscovered talents, self-confidence and brought the understanding that nothing is impossible for a Ukrainian woman.

I like this quote: “As long as you say things that aren’t what you think, listen to things that you don’t believe in, and do things that aren’t what you’re capable of, you don’t live all this time.” It is important for me to live and constantly create something new, work for the benefit of society and change the environment where I live. And somehow I constantly return to this idea, wherever I am and wherever I work. Therefore, I wish all women to be themselves, find their own business, go only forward, not counting the steps, strive for new heights, and believe in themselves.