Hi, I’m Julia. I’m bookkeeper in our team. This week, you will read my stories.
Working as bookkeeper is exciting and not always good for your health
Today, it’s exactly ten years since I started working in Children’s Embassy. I worked in cost-calculation earlier, and then in budgeting. In Ukraine, the details of a bookkeeper’s work vary depending on the kind of business. My job is a roller-coaster ride from one day to the other. Going to bed in the evening, I can never be sure what awaits me the next morning when I look at the Internet.
The war made my job especially complex. Occupation, power outages, loss of Internet – all this hampers my work. In the beginning of the all-out invasion, our village was under occupation for one month. I was not worried about myself. I was worried that something could happen to my laptop and my phone, as all my work takes place in them. I was afraid I couldn’t pay the taxes at the end of the month, or submit the quarterly reports. I prayed God that he might come up with something. And God heard my prayers. We were able to flee and I could accomplish my work.
But the trouble didn’t stop there. The russians started to hit our critical infrastructure in the autumn. They destroyed our energy system. We were nearly without power. The schedule was: 2 h power and 6 hours no power. Sometimes the outages were longer. A consequence was lack of Internet. So we had to plan our work according to when power was available.
The Ukrainian banking system
I love the way our banks work, although there are problems. But these are not critical.
Since the war started, our bank changed the regulations for the clients. This was mainly positive from my point of view. I no longer need to go to the bank to submit documents. During the first months, this would have been impossible. This saves my time. Everything can be done in the client bank or email. You sign the documents, stamp them, scan them and send them.
The validity of payment cards was lengthened. You can use them in shops and take out cash. Problems can come when buying online.
On the other hand, there are difficulties as well. Payments in foreign currency are controlled more closely. We need to give more information and explanations of why and how we do things. I can understand this very well. There is a war on, and the controls are standard.
Families with children are Ukraine’s future
The war in Ukraine started in 2014. But it was only with the all-out invasion that it started to affect the economy significantly. Many families with children fled abroad. The reasons varied: danger of life, loss of home, loss of job.
Those who stayed are often struggling to make ends meet, especially in the countryside. There are no jobs. And if you have a job, the pay is lousy. It is not enough for the absolute necessities.
But the world is not without good people. Thank God, we have many friends abroad. You have been our reliable help for nearly two years now. Thank you for your support – it is very important for us here. Especially your prayers. ❤️
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7
P.S.- Baking helps me distract from all the bad things in these difficult times. I bake and cook various desserts for the children in Friend’s House. They are my best clients. They never fail to thank me for the delicacies.
Julia
