Displaced woman opens healthy food cafe with charity screenings of Ukrainian films

Oleksandra Rodinf, a woman from the northern city of Sumy that was severely damaged by russia, organized weddings and other events before the full-scale invasion. Now she moved to the western city of Ternopil at the beginning of the war and shelling of her hometown and dared to open a cafe.

Rubryka reports, referring to Oleksandra Rodina's Facebook page.

What is the problem?

Oleksandra Rodina is a woman from Sumy who, before the full-scale invasion of russian troops, was an organizer of weddings and various events. She moved to Ternopil with her family last March when she realized it was dangerous to stay in her hometown.

Oleksandra says that her family slept in their clothes, and when they heard explosions or the sound of fighter jets, they immediately ran to the basement.

"It wasn't a basement. It's a cellar where we store potatoes. It was an unprepared basement. These planes were flying, we ran into this basement, there was a terrible ladder, you couldn't go down it, but somehow we were all in the basement in 3 seconds. A large family with small children and their private house were struck when our area was shelled. They were my dad's acquaintances, and after that, he agreed to evacuate."

What is the solution?

The family left on March 8 through the green corridor to Lebedyn. From there, they decided to go to the west of Ukraine. They had neither relatives nor friends there.

"On March 25, I got to Ternopil for the first time, my husband was offered support here, where he could do his business, so we moved to this city. However, I liked Ternopil the most out of all the cities in the west of Ukraine because of the lake and the beautiful center. It's very similar in size to Sumy. Everyone here knows each other."

How does it work?

During the first months in Ternopil, the woman says she did not know what to do.

"I organized a yoga event, then another one, and met my partner. He worked in this space and offered to work in this cafe. At first, we had so few people, so we employed only one person, barista Bohdan. We sat here alone. Three people used to come from the business center, and there were very few people in general. It was like that until blackouts started in Ternopil. Many people came to us because the business center where we rent space has a generator that provides full electricity. We were full-house. We didn't know what to do, we had to hire people quickly because we didn't have time for everyone."

Oleksandra often asks the guests if they like everything.

"I've worked as a waitress many times. When people especially like what you do, it's so nice. You're so recharged."

"Once, I told my friends I would make healthy food, and they asked if it would be healthy or tasty. It can be healthy and tasty. You need to know how to cook it properly."

Barista Bohdan Barabash says that charity screenings of Ukrainian films are organized every Monday.

"[We screen] films made after 2014. At that moment, there was just such a cultural shift that people began to pay a little more attention to Ukrainian films. Sentsov's film Rhino and Tribe, when we simply had no words. We sat in silence and could not find the words.

"One can participate in this event with a donation. We completely transfer proceeds to the armed forces. This is a small contribution that we can make," says Oleksandra.