Snizhana MATKOVSKA

[ region ]

Luhansk

06 / 11 / 2020

Businesswoman, owner of the Relaks Café in Popasna, Luhansk region

[ topic ] Peace and Human Rights, Food Security and Organic Farming, Economic Development

The conventional business financing mechanisms are not affordable or difficult to access for micro-enterprises and small-and medium-sized enterprises in eastern Ukraine.

Through investment grants, Switzerland supported business growth and competitiveness of MSME's in the region, which in turn improve employment, income generation opportunities and livelihoods of the displaced and conflict-affected population.

Peace, justice and strong institutions / 16

At the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, we totally reorganized the space of our restaurant to create an efficient chain of packing deliveries. It was not the first time we had to reinvent ourselves. We bought this ruined premise back in 2016. Back then, no one believed we would get anything out of it. But to open a restaurant was my long-time dream. We learned from the Internet how to make repairs and how to operate a restaurant kitchen. Money was another issue. I had no idea how to apply for grants. So I researched everything about it and we received significant support that drove us to the opening of our Relaks Café in 2018.

It is important to provide our customers with this feeling of living a normal life.

Our real success story started then. Our consumers travel several kilometers to come here! We also offer catering services so that people can rely on us to enjoy their special events. It is important to provide them with this feeling of living a normal life despite the difficult context. Because of the pandemic, they cannot come to us anymore. Therefore, we come to them with our deliveries! To keep good relationship with our customers is essential for our business and also for our overall mood.

Since 24th February 2022

"Relaks Café" does not exist any longer. Neither does my house. Popasna was turned into ruins. We have nowhere to come back to. It was a sobering pain to see pictures of our half-destroyed café. We had put our souls into it. All of the equipment was undoubtedly stolen by marauders in Popasna.

Time only may heal our wounds. Today I search for a job in Europe and I am ready to start a new life. It was a difficult decision to leave Ukraine. We found shelter in Poland with my adult daughter, volunteering at the railway station of Warsaw. I miss Ukraine. A part of our family is still there. I would like to return and to restart our business as soon as the war is over.

after

24 feb 2022

What else is Switzerland doing for Ukraine?

Switzerland has been assisting those impacted through various means – from humanitarian aid, humanitarian demining and financial support to granting protection status S to individuals from Ukraine seeking refuge. By 15 February 2024, the Swiss federal government had spent a total of around 3 billion Swiss francs to support Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland and people in Ukraine.

In 2022, Switzerland organised the first Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano and launched the political process to help Ukraine rebuild. The Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland in 2024, set up a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In the longer term, the Federal Council aims to allocate 1.5 billion Swiss francs to support Ukraine's recovery efforts by 2028.

organic farming

energy efficiency

search for missing persons

food security

culture

tourism

diplomacy

peace process

health

psychosocial support

protection

education