Only recently, Tatyana Wichtodenko (43) ran a company in Kiev with 2,000 employees. Today she stands in a kitchen on a farm in the village of Weiach in the Unterland in Zurich, cleaning the induction hob. Once a week, the Ukrainian visits the farmer to clean up his apartment. It is one of Wichtodenko’s many cleaning jobs.
From director to cleaning lady: A success story may sound different. But Tatyana Wichtodenko is proud of what she has achieved. She is one of the 7.7 million Ukrainians who have fled their homeland because of the war. Not only did she leave her job, but also her husband, her two dogs, family and friends. “My mother weaves nets for the army, my father provides food for the soldiers,” she says.
goal almost reached
Wichtodenko also wants to make himself useful – maybe not in Ukraine, but here in Switzerland. Blick first met the Ukrainian last May. Even then, the businesswoman, who was staying with a host family in Glattfelden ZH, had a goal: she wanted to set up a cleaning company in Switzerland so that she could stand on her own two feet and create jobs for other Ukrainian women.
Almost six months later, she is about to realize her vision. The Ukrainian now speaks a little German, has completed further training in professional cleaning, the first customers have been recruited and the website of the cleaning company is up and running. Only the official establishment of the company, which will allow her to employ other Ukrainians, is still pending. As a foreigner, she needs a director with a Swiss passport. Wichtodenko hopes to find someone suitable for Putzpani GmbH soon.
“It’s not about making money”
«I know that there are many Ukrainian women who would like to work and who can. I want to give them this chance,” said Wichtodenko. She has already found two business partners: Olha Paskalenko (31) and Olha Zaretskaya (42), like Tatyana Wichtodenko, are from Kiev. The three only met in Switzerland. Zaretskaja is a trained accountant and currently lives with her family in Schwyz. Based in St. Urban LU, Paskalenko has worked as a manager in Ukraine, where he taught French and English.
Now they clean too. Together, the three women already have 16 customers in the canton of Zurich and central Switzerland. “It’s not just about making money for me,” says Olha Paskalenko. Above all, it is important to her that she can make herself useful. Olha Zaretskaja also sees the cleaning job as an opportunity to quickly learn better German. As soon as the language skills are good enough, the bookkeeper wants to start working with numbers again instead of a mop and vacuum cleaner.
No more well-being
To date, more than 4,700 people with protection status S have found work in Switzerland. That is 13 percent, which is a very high value compared to recognized refugees or temporarily admitted persons. It is rare for someone like Wichtodenko to become self-employed. In the canton of Zurich, for example, there were only ten people seeking protection and self-employment in August and September.
Tatyana Wichtodenko’s business is doing quite well. At the moment, she is only gaining customers through word of mouth. The Ukrainian has not received social assistance for several months – which is very important to her.
The Ukrainian is bursting with energy and has not lost her courage and fighting spirit despite the unfavorable circumstances. “We’re not just going to lie on the couch and wait for the war to end,” she says. Of course, she often thought about returning to her homeland. “But every time I think about it, something more disturbing happens,” she says. A return is currently simply too uncertain.
«I am Ukrainian. I do not give up”
Instead of thinking about the old life, Wichtodenko looks optimistically ahead. «I am glad that despite the language problems and all the heartache I have found satisfaction in a foreign country. I earn my living and pay taxes, I see new horizons and have room to develop.” She is very grateful to her host family, a married couple, for actively supporting her.
When the war is over, she wants to continue business in Ukraine, according to Wichtodenko’s plan. But now she wants to work here. Because one thing is certain for her: “I am Ukrainian. I do not give up.”