Armenia: Finding strength to fulfill a long-held dream
“When you do what you love, success follows. Our success comes from staying positive and determined. Instead of focusing on challenges, we look ahead,” said Alina Voskanyan, whose son went missing following the escalation of the conflict in 2020.
Despite her grief and the challenges of not knowing what happened to her son, Alina has stayed strong and kept hope alive. She believes that he will return home one day and, when he does, she wants him to find her full of resilience and not struggling with despair.
To stay optimistic and keep herself motivated, Alina decided to work towards a lifelong dream of having her own bakery. Baking has always been something she enjoyed doing. After thinking about it for years, she finally learned cake decoration and went ahead with starting her own business, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“I had some experience working in a pastry factory and always enjoyed cooking, which gave me the confidence to pursue my dream,” she said.
For Alina, another important reason behind wanting to open a bakery was to have a stable livelihood which would allow her to spend more time with her son and focus on him when he returns. Her family has been a big help in setting up her small business. In the meanwhile, through her new venture, she has also been able to give back to her community by helping others find employment. Currently, she has three employees and another person is expected to join the staff soon.
The ICRC helped Alina start her own business by providing a conditional cash grant. Through this initiative, we aimed to empower her with a sustainable income, fostering self-sufficiency and creating job opportunities for others.
According to Alina, her mantra for success includes adopting a step-by-step approach to progress and overcoming challenges by staying positive, looking ahead and being ready to take risks. While the bakery maybe a small one, she strives to provide high-quality products by ensuring that they adhere to the best food safety standards, only using natural ingredients and avoiding artificial additives. Furthermore, she has promoted the value of being kind and supportive among her employees, so that they can create a better workplace where everyone gives their best.
Children from the nearby school have become the bakery’s loyal customers and have even asked for a small space within the bakery where they can express their love and appreciation for the delicious products. Alina shares that their “Napoleon” cake, made using a traditional family recipe, is a customer favourite and there has been a steady increase in the number of custom orders for it.
As with any other business, they occasionally face certain obstacles and difficulties, such as meeting different customer preferences, but they do their best to satisfy the demands and improve their work constantly. Looking forward, Alina and her team hope to open another facility focusing on pastries.
“The words “I can’t” or “It won’t work” often stop people from achieving their goals, but within just one month of opening, my business is doing well. I’ve even paid off most of my debts. This bakery is more than a business to me. It’s a way to follow my dream, support my family and create something meaningful. Step by step, we’re turning this dream into reality,” said Alina.
By finding the means and strength to support her dream, Alina has not only been able to achieve personal growth but also brought joy to others, while finding a positive and meaningful way to deal with her life's challenges.
