Sunflowers in New Soil

One of the ways the IAFR team in Bratislava has come alongside the forcibly displaced is in partnership with a local organization called Agathe. Together, they support refugee entrepreneurs as they turn their creative visions into reality.

Natalia is the type of person who, when faced with a challenge or problem, responds by asking “So what can I do about this?” It was not long after she moved from southern Ukraine to Slovakia that she set her eyes on how she could both contribute to her new host-community and make an impact in the lives of those who shared a common story of displacement.

Through starting her own sleepwear business, her vision is to provide jobs specifically for women from Ukraine as well as create opportunities to process challenging experiences within a cultural context where mental health is still widely seen as taboo. Her ingenuity and desire to inspire hope in others is a beautiful testament to the entrepreneurial spirits and compassionate hearts of many of those whom we at IAFR have the honor to walk alongside.

This is Natalia’s story…

CLICK to learn more about IAFR's work in Bratislava