On February 24, the life of Oleksandr’s family was divided into “before” and “after”. Until that day, the man had been successfully working in his native Sloviansk, selling groceries, owning a house, and thinking about how to expand his product range.

The family decided to evacuate in April, when it became too loud and scary for the children’s lives. They chose the city of Zhytomyr as their new home, where they had to start all over again.

“I noticed that there were almost no flowers in Zhytomyr, no decorations near the houses. As if it was not important here. I immediately thought that this could become a small niche for trade,” says Oleksandr.

This is how the idea for a local flower shop was born. They decided to sell flowers exclusively from Ukrainian suppliers, to support their own people. Things have been going well: the family has expanded its assortment, found new customers, and is planning to open an online store.

In the new city, Oleksandr began to actively learn Ukrainian. He says that now is the best time to learn it and finally start speaking his native language.

“The main thing is to take the first step! It will be easier from there,” Oleksandr adds.