“Giraffes Can Dance”: What Children’s Books Can Teach for Business Revival in War-Torn Ukraine
With the funds received, she purchased a new smartphone, a laptop, furniture for the expanded shop, books to replace those that were lost, and an air conditioner that also works as a heater. “Now it will be warm in our bookshop, and we are looking forward to welcoming children to the free reading club that we used to organize before the war and that we would like to resume.”
“When reading children’s books now, you perceive them totally differently than when you were a child yourself,” Iryna shares, explaining the secret of her passion for her business.
As for her own favourite book, she immediately points to “Giraffes Can’t Dance” by Giles Andreae, on a shelf near the cashier desk.
Gerald, a giraffe, wanted to dance but could not. After being teased by other animals, he felt very sad and left the party where they all gathered. On his way home, he met a cricket who played the violin. “Excuse me!” coughed the cricket, who had seen Gerald at the party. “But sometimes when you’re different, you just need a different song.” The cricket began playing the violin and Gerald started dancing! The other animals were fascinated: “How did you learn to dance like that? Please, Gerald, tell us how.” But Gerald simply twirled around and finished with a bow. Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon and stars above. “We all can dance,” he said, “when we find music that we love.”
Within the project “SME Boost: Economic Integration of Internally Displaced Persons and Business Recovery” (December 2021-May 2024), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW), more than 700 enterprises in Ukraine will receive grants between EUR 4,500 and 20,000 to revive and boost business throughout the country. Additionally, the project engages the Ukrainian diaspora to support the recovery of the country and of enterprises through skills development, business support, and access to finance, networks and markets.
Text by Varvara Zhluktenko, photos by Alisa Kyrpychova, IOM Ukraine
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