Took part in a contest to scale up assistance to defenders: the winner of the "Do Your Own with Kurator" contest opened her own smokehouse

Yulia Mishchenko, the winner of the "Do Your Own with Kurator" contest from Baryshivka, Kyiv region, has opened her own smokehouse, UNN reports.

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The woman applied for the project because she wanted to scale up the assistance to the defenders, which she has been organizing since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A doctor, masseuse, rehabilitation therapist, mother of two soldiers of the Azov battalion, one of whom was killed by the enemy, she started cooking and sending food to the front because her son asked her to "send something tasty." The soldiers' feedback "it tastes just like mom's" gave her the name of her own smokehouse, which she set up in Baryshivka - "Myasko from Mom". Through trial and error, she developed her own recipes for smoked products. Now Yulia wants to scale her project.

"During the war, I realized that nothing is impossible. Things that used to seem unrealistic are becoming obvious: registering a charity to help children with disabilities, being a rehabilitation therapist, and developing my own unique recipes for smoked products. Because there are people next to you who will advise you and help you find opportunities for development. I thank the organizers of the competition and the entire project team for their faith in us, the winners. In fact, it is very important if they believe in you. Then everything becomes possible," she comments.

Another business initiative that won the Do Your Own with Kurator contest belongs to Yulia and Oleh Dmytrenko from the village of Kuchakiv in Kyiv Oblast. They opened a coffee shop. "Opening a Liberty coffee shop in our village and during the war is our contribution to the development of the country's economy, support for our fellow villagers, and faith in victory. And participation in the Do It Yourself with Kurator contest not only opened up new horizons for us to scale our project, but also inspired us to act every day, taking small steps toward a big dream," says 32-year-old Yulia. The Dmytrenkos plan to open similar restaurants in neighboring Senkivka and Hora.

"We want to create not only modern locations for our villagers to spend their time comfortably, but also new jobs, which will help fill local budgets," added Yulia.

The Do Your Own with Kurator competition was organized by the Kurator brand and the MHP-Gromada charitable foundation for the HoReCa industry. In total, ten winners from Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava and Cherkasy regions received up to UAH 100 thousand to scale their businesses.

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"MHP-Hromadas is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that started its operations in 2015. Its main mission is the comprehensive development of communities. The geography of its activities includes 12 regions of Ukraine: more than 700 towns and villages. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Foundation has been systematically supporting people in the regions of hostilities, Ukrainian defenders and rescuers, communities, hospitals and maternity homes, charitable institutions that care for orphans and the elderly, as well as people who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the war.