Back to my business, back to my life

"I recently had a video call with the girls from my team. When I'm back in Ukraine and the war is over, we'll organise a huge event for the people there." With tears in her eyes, Evelina Menkovska talks about her home and those who enrich her life every day. The 37-year-old has lived in Kyiv for 20 years, where she has not only built a beautiful home, but also a successful business.

"I have studied all my life and have a high degree in marketing and advertising, with over twelve years of experience in this field. I have my own small company, an event agency, with which I have worked for big IT companies like Microsoft or organised events for the government, " says Evelina, who is affectionately called Eva by her friends and colleagues. Before she was ripped out of her everyday life by a loud explosion at 5 a.m. in February, it was filled with projects, visions and plans, because in Ukraine, Eva's life was exactly what she had always dreamed of.

A good work-life balance

"I had a good job, a good income, a nice flat. I travelled three or four times a year and worked my whole life for it. And now I've lost everything in one fell swoop, " says the event manager. She is in constant contact with her neighbours, who take care of her plants while she is away and make sure that everything continues to work in the building near the Dnepr River ‒ if at all possible. "For the first two months of the war, people from our house prepared Molotov cocktails and alerted the soldiers when Russian military approached. They also take care of an old man staying with us and bring him food, " Eva says.