Find the strength for new achievements: OCU organizes business courses for displaced women
In 2019, the Synodal Department of social service of the OCU in partnership with KWB Koordinierungsstelle weiterbildung und Beschäftigung e. V. (Germany), with the assistance of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Auswärtiges Amt launched the project "I Know You Can Do It", which is designed to support displaced women from temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea.
“The project helps internally displaced women, including Crimean Tatars, to complete training and gain basic knowledge and skills in order to create their own businesses and become financially independent. We attract the best specialists in the field of financial literacy, psychology, marketing so that they give the most necessary knowledge to our participants in a short time,” says Olena Tanasiychuk, the project manager on behalf of the OCU.
“Eleos-Ukraine“ told RISU that the project provides training sessions in each region on the topics ”Starting own business “and ”Building up psychological stability". They are held online and “live”. In addition, German coaches joined the Ukrainian specialists.
The project participants are accompanied by female mentors who have already passed the path of creating a business “from scratch” and have become successful businesswomen. They provide practical advice and tips. At the end of the training, each participant can offer their own business idea, the best of which are awarded with the purchase of the minimum necessary equipment.
“When we started this project, the main goal was to support women, give them a sense of significance, show that both the church and people are ready to find resources to restore home comfort for families from the occupied territories. "I Know You Can Do It" isn't about money. This project is about solidarity, mutual assistance and love. As the Gospel says: "Blessed Be The God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of all mercy, and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may comfort those in all their tribulations with the consolation with which God comforts us himself." Fr Serhiy Dmitriev, Chairman of the Synodal Department of Social Service.
According to the project organizers, participants from Dnipro, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Kherson and Lviv are currently covered. Women received knowledge and tools to implement their most ambitious plans. The established social businesses bring not only economic independence to the families of displaced persons, but also additional jobs and benefits to the citizens of Ukraine. The project participants opened bakeries, flower shops, farms for the production of eco-cheeses, cleaning companies, training courses, medical offices, sewing workshops — all this for the development of our society, to help people.
“We are happy for every participant of the project. It was hard for them, they cried, they fought with themselves, but with the support of specialists, due to the fact that most of the training sessions were held on the territories of monasteries, dioceses, and theological seminaries, women also felt the support of the Lord. And no one paid attention to the denomination or religion. There was one participant — a Crimean Tatar, a Muslim woman, who spoke very warmly about holding events on the territory of the Mikhailovsky monastery, saying that the feeling of peace and God's mercy only helped to implement ideas,” father Serhiy Dmitriev notes.
