The Ukraine Travel Time

#SAVEUKRAINE

JURIS VERZBICKIS General Director Watsons Ukraine. One of the largest Health & Beauty retail companies in Ukraine - part of world’s largest international health and beauty retailer with over 16,400 stores in 29 markets.

JURIS VERZBICKIS General Director Watsons Ukraine. One of the largest Health & Beauty retail companies in Ukraine - part of world’s largest international health and beauty retailer with over 16,400 stores in 29 markets.

You have a wonderful wife and daughters. Tell us about the family you created with your wife?

I met my soulmate more than 20 years ago, we got married few years after. I can proudly say every achievement in our life’s we celebrate together, because without each other it would be a complete di erent story. My wife helps me get up when I’m down and vice versa. Same goes to motivation, support, dedication, resilience. Looking back on our time in marriage, we have 4 beautiful daughters pricesses in every way! Each of them is, of course, unique and has it’s own talents.

Our eldest daughter Gabriella is passionate about all what is related to beauty - she has participated in modelling shows, beauty contests winning Miss Teen Latvia 2021 title, loves horseriding, is extremely good with technology.

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uris, tell us about your family where you were born? How was your childhood?

I’m born and raised in Latvia - “country in Northern Europe close to Finland” as I’m used to explain location to lot of foreigners whenever we travel. Country is simply so small, nobody really knows where it is. And with less than 2m population that is true.

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From early age I had this entrepreneurial spirit - my very rst retail experience is from when I was age 10, selling grandma’s pickles from the garden in a local market.

Sometimes competitive environment was even more erce as I was selling just in front of local “гастроном”. I was done by 11’o clock. That is how I spend my summers, earning money. Sometimes working in a eld in preparing hay for the winter. I still remember these endless elds. The environment was harsh, but it has tought me to not be afraid of hard work - I’m always ready to roll-up sleves and get to work!

Anabella, second daughter, is simply the best. She started swimming while we were living in Hong Kong and developed very good set of skills in swimming - now training on professional level 6 times a week, taking part in international competitions. Her “grand” dream is to take part in Olympic games. I guess sports also has tought her a lot - she is well discipliner and excells also academically.

Mariabella (our third daughter) loves dancing. She is very good at hip-hop.

Trained both in Latvia and also in Kyiv, taking centre stage in concerts she participates.

Isabella is our little princess. She is learning a lot from her sisters, has every bit of a talent from each. But above most she is the most sociable of all of us!

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So here I am - surrounded by beauty! 5 women of my life. P.S. We have a boy Jack Russell terrier (similar like ZSU Patron)!

3.24/02 marks the day of monumental tragedy for Ukraine and it’s people, but also for whole World. This is the day which I will remeber forever - I woke up intuitively around 4:30am in that morning and looked at phone where big headline read “WAR has started”. Something I believe everyone hoped to avoid and did not want to believe until the very last minute…same as me.

Could not believe this is really happening.

Priority from the rst minutes and now is with my 2 families: my wife and our 4 daughters, our dog and also Watsons Family - all 2,500 colleagues.

The very simple yet very important routine was established from day 1 - make sure everyone is safe.

Through various communication channels every morning and evening we are making sure each of our colleagues says simple “I am OK”…that’s all what matters! Ukraine has become our home and it is being destroyed now! Pointlessly lives are being lost every single day… nothing can justify what is happening now. I truly believe this nightmare will end soon and we will be able to return to our loved Kyiv.

During rst couple of weeks our frontline sta were opening stores for charity organisations, ZSU, Territorial defence forces to collect and provide donations of essential products in areas where it was needed most. For everyone it was a genuine sense and purpose of help to closest ones in need.

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t is known that you do your best to help Ukraine and support Ukrainians. Tell us more about your activities?

Support to Ukraine and it’s people is a duty of each citizen of the World - Ukrainians are on the frontline of defending freedom, democratic values, country, each other…something we Latvians are very familiar with when regained independence in 1991. Nobody should stand aside!

Together with my family we are helping as much as possibly can by donating and collecting food, personal items, supporting nancially our friends in Ukraine now, helping to coordinate their arrival to other countries, volunteering.

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I’m also very proud to have the best colleagues at Watsons!

They are simply amazing. When war broke out there was no panic - we had a clear set of actions to follow. Ensuring everyone is safe and accounted for was and remains priority.

After few weeks our colleagues from Rossmann Poland, Kruidvat Netherlands (both companies of A. S. Watson Group) brought rst trucks of food, essential products to Kyiv. We have transported total 20 trucks of humanitarian help of essential products over past weeks.

In a few weeks time, in areas where it was safe to operate our frontline teams started to open stores for our customers to buy essentials products…40 stores, them 90, then 120, then 200…every day setting up new record of stores opened. Each opening brought us closer to our customers to ensure they can buy essential products. Today we have 280+ operational stores across Ukraine.

As to our customer promise on day 1 we did not increase any of our prices - those remain exactly the same despite all supply chain, logistical, in ation challenges present.

I’m very proud we are able to withstand all challenges together, continuing to operate, support Ukraine economy, support our people.

Tremendous support is being felt from all colleagues of A.S. Watson Group. A massive thank you to all teams locally and internationally!

As I was quoting in one of

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How did the hostilities in Ukraine a ect your life and career?

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My personality is very structured, I like to plan and execute. On the day of 24/02 all plans were suddenly gone. Over past 56 days every day bring new challenges, new hardships however you just don’t give up - stand up and continue the ght. It is not the same as in battle eld, however each we have a role to play, each of us can support, help, bring victory closer by the actions we take. And you learn to live with it - adapt, adjust, move forward together.

Clearly all our lives are impacted and we feel lost at certain degree. Overall, I would say personally and professionally I got closer with my Watsons Family. I may not be able to go on store visit or o ce like before but we keep close to each other by genuine care.

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Будьте в безпеці Все буде добре! Все буде Україна Слава Україні!

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Despite few destroyed, looted stores and complete loss of our distribution centre, we managed to get business going. We retained and are paying all employees and respective salaries on same level as before the war to make sure we help as much as possible nancially.

Gabriella Verzbicka #SaveUkraine

Isabella Verzbicka #SaveUkraine

Anabella Verzbicka #SaveUkraine

Mariabella Verzbicka #SaveUkraine

Amazing Ukrainian Woman

MARIANA KOCH - ZOROVA

M

ariana, what about your family where you were born? How was your childhood ?

I was born into a creative family of an actor and director. I spent my entire childhood backstage at concerts and on stage, but from an early age I knew I would follow my own path and dreamed of a diplomatic career. I studied foreign languages diligently and chose to become an international economist. Every day I cooperate with people of a hundred di erent nationalities, living my dream of becoming a diplomat. But my creativity and love for the stage still keep me busy. That is why after the end of the war I will take part in the grandiose beauty contest "Ms. Ukraine World International".

Tell us about your life outside of Ukraine?

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I went to Switzerland for an internship right after graduation. I found my love and started a family here. It took me years to establish my career and stability in a foreign country and it was not easy. I found the business of my heart and soul, dedicating many years of my career to chocolate. I run a risk management department in securities trading on the world's nancial exchanges. I am glad that now, thanks to my position, it is from abroad that I can help my fellow countrymen the best.

Share your thoughts and actions on 24.02.2022, the day when the full-scale war in Ukraine began ?

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I remember this day, it is impossible to forget. I ew out of Boryspil on February 19 and some uneasy feeling hung in the air, there was a feeling that I was seeing all this normal life for the last time. The 24th morning began with messages from my family, and then reading the news.

That day I lost sleep and appetite, lost contact with the world around me, staying in constant contact with my family and friends in Kiev. During the day it seemed that it was all a bad dream and that everything would soon be over. But the rst night when my parents were sleeping in a bomb shelter at a nearby school and my friends were sending photos of me with little kids from the basement, I was so scared and realized that life would never be the same again. I did not eat for days, woke up in the night in time with the air-raid alarm, after a week of such a state I gathered 7 people close to me and organized an action to save them in Switzerland. Only when they crossed the border was I able to smile again.

It is known that you help Ukraine in every way and support Ukrainians. Can you tell us more about your activities?

During the war we all became volunteers. I don't know a single Ukrainian who didn't help us winning on all fronts. For many years since Euromaidan, the community of Ukrainians in Zurich has been active in organizing rallies, collecting humanitarian aid, and organizing cultural charity events, such as Ukrainian lm days and gala concerts by Ukrainian musicians. Now I primarily help Ukrainian refugees to settle in Switzerland. My biggest passion is organizing charity concerts. Together with like-minded people we organize gala concerts of opera stars every month to raise funds for the Ukrainian army and psychological rehabilitation of children from the war zone. We plan to organize atmospheric open-air summer concerts on the shores of Lake Zurich for the employment of Ukrainian refugees and Ukrainian artists.

How did the military action in Ukraine a ect your life and career?

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For the rst week I just couldn't work, I was covered by all my superiors and my team. Any career ambitions were put on the back burner, helping refugees was my priority. And of course the biggest pain for me was the cancellation of the nals of Ms. Ukraine. World. International, my biggest dream of my childhood, which was to take place in May of this year.

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Volunteers in Spain

Sharon Gilon & Katia Hubchyk

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ur names are Sharon and Katia, both immigrants, from Switzerland and from Belarus, and we found a joyful life here in Spain, a very welcoming country. Neither of us is very political but we like staying informed on global trends. We had been concerned for a while about Putin’s ambitions but wouldn’t, until the last moment, really believe he would dare invade Ukraine, and we certainly didn’t believe he would do so with such indiscriminate unspeakable terror. None of us had ever entertained the idea of such a war so close to home in the new millennium. The urge for us to do something and help came immediately.

All we had to do was get on a local list of people willing to help and BOOM! Non-stop opportunities owed like a river.

So much so, we needed a whole community. We picked up the phone and talked to friends and neighbours. Most people were glad to help, and some really went out of their way to do so. One friend even turned her garage into a free second hand shop and had to manage inventory and distribution by herself. She also managed to get funds to buy bikes online to give for free to Ukrainian kids. Aren’t some people amazing?

So, to go back where everything began, our rst encounter with real horror from Ukraine was when we hosted a family from Mariupol for two weeks in our home. A mother had left for holidays from Ukraine to Spain in the middle of February when they closed the borders due to the war. She was provided free accommodation in a nearby hotel while her younger eighteen year old daughter was trapped in an underground garage in Mariupol for an excruciatingly long month with no time to get any provisions! Imagine that!

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No drinking water for a whole month! First, they had to drink water they melted from the snow, then, when there was no more snow, they took the water from the radiators, then, luckily, came the rain. She and her boyfriend had to share living space with one very psychologically unstable individual, a small baby and a dog. Living conditions were insane. Just by having to cook something outside of the garage they were risking their lives every single day.

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Not to speak of personal hygiene! We actually bombarded them with all kinds of questions, poor people.

- What do you do when you get your period?

- You shared your limited amount of food and water with a dog?

- Did you try to get to your apartment? Was it completely destroyed?

- How was it to be surrounded by so much death? What would the people do with the bodies?

- How does it feel to become an improvised nurse and help a man with an open neck wound?

Etc. Some questions were left unanswered.

The miracle happened when they were able to escape thanks to a random ambulance driver that passed by and o ered a lift to safety. He had ve spots left and gave them ve minutes to decide, pack up and leave.

Their mother contacted us thanks to the aforementioned local list of volunteers.

She asked if we could host her daughter and her boyfriend for a couple of weeks until they nd their path. We happily agreed. Their ats and cars had been destroyed, they had gone through hell and they were in shock. But, they were happy to have escaped and it didn’t take long for this place to get them to get them to smile again. They went from hell to heaven overnight.

Once you live such an experience your life can never be the same.

What this family had gone through impacted us so much that we decided to help refugees that managed to get to Spain with whatever we had: our will, time, knowledge, local connections etc.

We have been translating for them with the Red Cross, we have been giving them Spanish classes at one of the busiest hotels in Costa Daurada, Hotel San Salvador, and helping with all kinds of personal requests, mediations, job hunting, bureaucratic paperwork, acquisition of free second hand items etc. You would not believe the kinds of things people may ask you for: from a simple clothing item to a sewing machine, to baby milk, bikes, computers, strollers, a small fridge to store medication, a violin, even a teddy bear to help fall asleep etc. We might be too small to help end the war, but we are de nitely big enough to help reduce the misery.

And people do appreciate the initiative so much! It makes it all worth it. There’s nothing like knowing you brought a smile.

And so, victims of this cruel and despicable war will nd in our and many other homes a helping hand. And we should all remember that many have not managed to get out, and many more are staying in the ght, chaos and horror. Let’s all try to do what we can.

#SaveUkraine

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We might be too small to help end the war, but we are de nitely big enough to help reduce www.linkedin.com/in/katiahubchyk/ the misery!

#SaveUkraine

Anna Dudareva

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Anna Dudareva, the author of the photos, came from Ukraine (Kiev) after the war started. Anna works as a teacher at the State University of Telecommunications in the department of mobile and video information technology, teaching students the basics of video shooting and editing, controlling and shooting video on a quadcopter and designing video surveillance systems. In her spare time she enjoys photography, lming and editing videos and quadcopter shooting. At the moment Anna is in Spain (Comaruga), taking pictures of children and shooting videos of Spanish classes.

Anna also helps to volunteers from Ukraine to raise money and buy shoes and clothes for the 72nd OMBr Black Zaporozhye brigade.

Instagram: @annamavic fb.me/dudarievaanna

Foto by Anna Dudareva Foto Story Ukraine

@bukreieva_anas

Say Yes to the Light

В

храмі Святої Анни, що в готичному кварталі Барселони відбулось відкриття виставки дитячого малюнку "Скажи світлу так!". Організатором акції виступили українські асоціації, які діють в столиці Каталонії ("Джерело", "Червона калина", "Сонрісас де Україна") та допомагають тимчасово переміщеним особам з

України в Іспанії адаптуватися, отримати підтримку своїх земляків, надсилають волонтерську допомогу в зону військових дій до України, координують спільні заходи по наданню допомоги україньскій армії та громадянам.

Основна ідея цієї творчої експозиції, яка розгорнулся в самісінькому центрі столиції Каталонії, в готичному кварталі, показати, що українські діти зараз не уособлюють жахіття війни, які навряд чи вийде стерти з пам’яті, вони уособлюють те, що символізує велику надію на світле майбутнє України.

В експозиції було представлено декілька десятків малюнків, які виконанні різними матеріалами, й в різній техніці: і пастель, акварель, вугілля, і гуаш. На світлинах зображені ангели, образи Святих, лелеки, Сонце, зорі, родинний зватишок, мирні будівлі, і картини, де за дитячими символами стоїть дорослий сенс про віру, самовідданість, жертовність, принциповість, гідність. Це малюнки, які діти створили в Україні і роботи, які були намальовані вже в Іспанії. Учасники художньої виставки з усіх куточків нашої держави. Експозиція із українських малюнків дуже органічно доповнила інтер'єр стародавньої церкви ХІІ столітття і багато іноземних відвідувачів одразу відзначили з якою майтсерністю та щирістю виконані малюнки.

Маленькій художниці Анні Стельмах 10 років. Вона приїхала в Барселону зі Львова, її малюнки про перемогу в Україні. Одна із художніх робіт, на якій українська жінка на руках тримає немовля, загорнуте в національний прапор. А на іншій роботі 15-річної Анастасії Брюховецької із Києва , зображений лелека на фоні українських багатоповерхівок. Цей малюнок про те, нарешті стих гуркіт ракет та згасло полум'я від ворожих снарядів, а в українських будинках запанували довогоочікувані мир, злагода та свобода. Щотижня із Іспанії до України відправляється до 400 тон вантажу гуманітарної допомоги, волонтери й надалі працюватимуть задля підтримки земляків.

Організатори акції переконані, що дедалі Україна своєю мужністю та нескоріненостю набирає світову підтримку, повагу та визнання міжнародної спільноти.А такими акціями ми наближаємо мир, бо дитячі малюнки це щира молитва про незламність духу, про одвічні традиції від пращурів, про Україну та українську волю, яка понад усе.

Після презентації робіт українських дітей, в церкві Святої Анни пройшло богослужіння, урочиста меса, на якій присутні молилися за мир в Україні та в усьому світі.

@veronika_kutovai

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he opening of the children's drawing exhibition "Say Yes to the Light!" was held in the Church of St. Anne in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. The event was organized by Ukrainian associations operating in the capital of Catalonia ("Jerelo", "Chervona Kalyna", "Sonrisas de Ukraine") and help temporarily displaced persons from Ukraine in Spain to adapt, receive support from their

compatriots, and send volunteer aid to the war zone to Ukraine, coordinate joint measures to provide assistance to the Ukrainian army

and citizens. The main idea of this creative exposition, which unfolded in the very center of the capital of Catalonia, in the Gothic quarter, is to show that Ukrainian children do not represent the horrors of war, which are unlikely to be erased from memory, they represent something that symbolizes great hope for a bright future of Ukraine. The exposition presented several dozens of drawings made with di erent materials and in di erent techniques: pastel, watercolor, charcoal, and gouache. The pictures depict angels, images of Saints, storks, the Sun, stars, a family gathering, peaceful buildings, and pictures where behind children's symbols there is an adult meaning of faith, self-sacri ce, sacri ce, principledness, and dignity. These are drawings that children created in Ukraine and works that were already drawn in Spain. Participants of the art exhibition from all corners of our country. The exhibition of Ukrainian drawings very organically complemented the interior of the ancient church of the twelfth century, and many foreign visitors immediately noted the artistry and sincerity of the drawings.

Little artist Anna Stelmach is 10 years old. She came to Barcelona from Lviv, her drawings about victory in Ukraine. One of the works of art shows a Ukrainian woman holding a baby wrapped in the national ag. Another work by 15-year-old Anastasia Bryukhovetska from Kyiv depicts a stork against the background of Ukrainian high-rise buildings. This picture is about the fact that the roar of rockets nally subsided and the ames from enemy shells went out, and the long-awaited peace, harmony and freedom reigned in Ukrainian homes.

Every week, up to 400 tons of humanitarian aid cargo is sent from Spain to Ukraine, volunteers will continue to work to support their compatriots.

The organizers of the action are convinced that with its courage and indomitability, Ukraine is increasingly gaining world support, respect and recognition of the international community. And with such actions, we bring peace closer, because children's drawings are a sincere prayer for the indomitability of the spirit, for eternal traditions from our ancestors, for Ukraine and the Ukrainian will. which is above all.

After the presentation of the works of Ukrainian children, a divine service was held in St. Anna's Church, a solemn mass, at which those

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present prayed for peace in Ukraine and around the world.

@veronika_kutovai

#SaveUkraine

Elizaveta Voronina

Star Baby

Karyna Iarovikova

Astrologer I give out wings at consultations

Instagram @karyna_iastro https://karynaiastro.com.ua/

#SaveUkraine

Artur Senik

@veronika_kutovai

#SaveUkraine

Milana Cherevko

Daniela Krivko

#SaveUkraine

Uliana Zhekova

@veronika_kutovai

Instagram @uliana.zhekova

#SaveUkraine

Instagram:

@modelnoe_agentstvo_angelika