MAY 2 • 2024 | 33
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lla and Maksym
Kondratenko’s lives
changed forever the
morning of Feb. 24, 2022, when
the Russian army invaded
Ukraine. It was the start of a
harrowing journey that would
eventually lead them to Saline,
Michigan. They are trying to cre-
ate a new life now and reestablish
the thriving business they left
behind.
The couple’s former home in
Kharkiv was 17 miles from the
Russian border. They awakened
early that day to a red sky and
the sound of bombs exploding.
They spent the next few days
crowded in the basement of their
apartment building, without heat,
electricity, food or medicine.
Those who left to collect food or
firewood risked being shot.
The Kondratenkos family had
been in business since 2015 and
had more than 10,000 items on
their website. The warehouse
containing their company’s
stylish handbags, purses, wallets
and backpacks was bombed and
destroyed.
If that wasn’t enough, Alla was
37 weeks pregnant with compli-
cations. She started to experience
severe abdominal pain. They
drove seven miles to the hospital
in the dark without headlights,
which might make them a target.
Alla was told she would have
died if she had arrived 15 min-
utes later. Her baby Daiana was
born on day four of the war. The
hospital had no space for them,
so they drove south to Poltava,
the town where Alla’s mother’s
family lived.
In anticipation of the birth,
their 3-year-old son Davyd had
been staying with Maksym’s par-
ents in the even more precarious
town of Izyum, seven miles from
the Russian border. In March,
Maksym made the perilous drive
alone, passing through almost 60
Ukrainian and Russian check-
points, to pick up his son from
the occupied town. His mother
evacuated with him, but his
father and grandmother refused
to leave their house. They said
they were too old to start over.
After Maksym’s return to
Poltava, the family fled the fight-
ing for Odessa. Then in June,
they made the difficult decision
to leave Ukraine and everything
they knew behind.
The Kondratenkos family were
sponsored by a couple in Saline
who involved more than 100
local volunteers to receive them.
Alla and Maksym, his mother
Olha, and their children arrived
Sept. 14, 2022.
In Maksym’s words, they
are “starting from zero.
” While
Maksym works an hourly job
at Comcast, Alla focuses on
rebuilding the business, called
Kondra Industries.
They are supporting not only
themselves, but also their families
in Ukraine, the seven or eight
friends who help design their
products and all those involved
in the manufacturing. “We are
like a light in the darkness for
them,
” Maksym says.
Their stylish handbags, purs-
es and backpacks are made of
high-quality leather, vegan leath-
er and fabric and are assembled
by hand. They feature a variety
of colors, textures, zippers and
clasps and are a good value at
$25-$85.
Showing the courage and resil-
ience of many immigrants before
them, the couple is not alone in
starting a business. Studies show
that immigrants are at least twice
as likely as the native born to
found companies and account for
25% or more of all U.S. business
start-ups.
The Kondratenkos family
are one of the nearly 600 refu-
gee families that Jewish Family
Services of Washtenaw County
has helped resettle this past
year. The agency is support-
ing their efforts through its
Microenterprise Development
program.
For those interested in pur-
chasing items, search for Kondra
Bags on Amazon.
For more information about Jewish
Family Services of Washtenaw County,
visit JFSannarbor.org.
A Fresh Start
Ukrainian refugee family restarts life, business in U.S.
GABBY MARKOWITZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Enjoying a picnic are
refugee community
members from some
of the countries
assisted by JFS of
Washtenaw County.
Alla and
Maksym
Kondratenko’s
Kondra
collection, for
all!