At Hanna Honcharenko's bakery in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine, the scent of freshly baked bread represents a slice of home for many. The business, born out of hardship, is proof that with trust and support it is possible start again following the loss brought on by war.
Ms. Honcharenko's story, like her bread, has risen through layers of loss, resilience, and hope. Before 2014, she lived in Horlivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, working as a doctor at a mine and raising four children with her husband, Dmytro. Life was stable, full of routine and love.
When the fighting in Donetsk broke out that year, the family had to leave everything behind and move to nearby Toretsk, which remained under the control of the Ukrainian government.
"The first few months, I felt completely lost," she recalled. "Then I came across an ad for an entrepreneurship course. It asked: 'What do you know best?' And I immediately thought - crêpes! I used to make them all the time for my family."
From that memory, a business was born. She bought a crêpe maker and a coffee machine and rented a tiny space. But it was baking bread that truly called to her.
"Everyone in my family baked: my mother, my grandmother, but I was never very good at it. I failed again and again. Still, I kept trying. I knew that one day it would work."
It did. Today, Ms. Honcharenko's bakery sells more than 20 types of bread.
Oven dough
In 2019, she received a grant from the International Organization for Migration (IOM ) that allowed her to purchase a large oven - the heart of her business. It has baked bread through two cities, survived shelling, and been repaired and relocated.
"When the full-scale war started, all I could think of was how to get the oven out," she said. "Not money, not documents - the oven. Without it, I wouldn't be able to start over again."
In 2022, Ms. Honcharenko's and her family were forced to move again - this time to Dnipro. They packed their belongings, their dog, oven, and began again.
A few weeks later, the bakery reopened.
"My son, who had never shown any interest in baking before, said: 'I'll bake with you.' My daughter-in-law took over the counter and my husband renovated the premises. We did everything together. For us, a family business isn't just a structure - it's the heart of what we do."
Today, Ms. Honcharenko runs two bakeries in Dnipro - one managed by her and the other by her son. In 2023, IOM provided additional support to help her purchase new equipment for the second location. The assistance allowed the family to expand the business and create more job opportunities for other displaced people.
Rising star
The menu includes more than 20 types of bread, cookies, croissants, nuts, cinnamon rolls, and her best-seller: the Donbas poppy seed roll, with three times more poppy seed than dough. "We always have queues for it," she smiled. "Some recipes didn't catch on in the new city, but others became iconic. I learn along with my customers."
Displaced people were her first customers in Dnipro.
