An App to Support Women and Ukraine

Where We Call Home.

In Kyoto, this entrepreneur from Ukraine develops apps to support women's health.

Introducing Anna Kreshchenko.

From pregnancy to childbirth to menopause, each stage in a woman's life brings different physical and emotional health issues.

With AI technology, Anna's apps offer advice for the mind and body.

To help people overcome those issues...

I hope to provide a bit of support,
and give them more freedom.

Her first connection to her country of adoption was karate, which she's been practicing since childhood.

Now, she also wants to help people in her homeland.

Let's follow Anna in her efforts to expand her business and her support for others.

Kyoto, a city at the heart of traditional Japan.

Five years ago, Anna Kreshchenko moved here to study at university.

While still a student, she started her own business in 2020.

She develops apps that offer support for health issues unique to women.

Today, Anna heads to a place that's about an hour train ride from Kyoto.

Osaka University in the city of Toyonaka.

She comes here a few times a month to work with an invaluable partner in the development of the apps.

A fellow Ukrainian, Ivan Seleznov is also a co-founder of Anna's company.

A graduate student researching biomedical engineering, he's the apps' technical developer.

Their first app's concept is to accompany a woman throughout her life.

The goal is a system of digital solutions
that support women at each life stage...

from puberty to pregnancy
to child rearing.

The app promotes self-care.

It does that by giving women a better
understanding of their body...

and in turn, more freedom.

Together, they developed this app that helps with issues like menstruation and pregnancy.

Only three months since release, it already has over 10,000 registered users.

It keeps track of a woman's ovulation and menstruation period, as well as body temperature.

In addition, the user can input their overall mood and physical condition on a given day, then the app's AI will provide advice on things like what to eat and what exercises to do to facilitate pregnancy.

Anna's ideas combined with Ivan's expertise made it possible to develop the app in three years.

We collect some health data from some pregnant, and just women, not only pregnant, but also women, just, in general.

So, my job is also to analyze that data, and to come up with some algorithms and ideas how we can use that data to get some information about women's health.

It's a very interesting story.

There are currently twelve people working to support the app, nearly half of which are Ukrainian who work remotely from their homeland.

They represent the results of their country's efforts to promote the advancement of the IT industry.

Anna places her trust in her team of developers.

Anna's birthplace is the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea.

She took up karate at the age of six, and went on to take part in international competitions.

She even joined the national team and once aimed for the Olympics.

It's through karate that she developed an interest in Japan and eventually moved to Kyoto.

While studying law in Kyoto University, she visited Silicon Valley in the US, and saw how many companies there contributed to society in various ways.

This was a pivotal experience for her.

The concept of social enterprise
really inspired me.

The idea of contributing to society
through business...

is truly wonderful.

Around that time, Anna's cousin who was pregnant fell into depression and had a miscarriage.

Anna wondered if she could have helped had she been by her cousin's side.

That is what prompted her to start her business.

Obviously, the app
can't solve everyone's problems.

But I hope it can be a source of support
and encouragement...

for those who are struggling
with these issues unique to women.

Soon after she arrived in Japan, Anna found a place that's become a big part of her life.

It's a dojo where people practice judo and karate.

This is where she met her "family in Japan."

Sonoyama Masae and her husband Kiyonori are also Anna's karate coaches.

They've always been there for her when she needed help.

When I first arrived in Japan,
it was tough.

I didn't speak much Japanese
and had few friends.

Coming to this dojo helped me so much.
Even today, this is where I belong.

You lived alone.

It must've been hard financially, too.

You used to stock up on "natto"
at the supermarket.

When we'd go to eat,
you liked fried chicken so much.

- You remember?
- Of course!

You ate so much of it.

The spirit of martial arts helped shape Anna as an entrepreneur.

Before a match or a performance,
your state of mind is very important.

This applies for business, too.

Focus on yourself to achieve self-control.

Concentrate only on what you can do,
and accept what you can't control.

I was deeply impressed
by that philosophy.

Anna's social enterprise is off to a great start.

But something worries her terribly.

The conflict in Ukraine.

Since the Russian invasion began in February, her hometown of Odessa too has been the target of attacks.

The residents live in fear and insecurity day after day.

Anna regularly contacts her mother back home.

How's the situation over there?

There was an attack yesterday.
But it was far from here.

I know you're somewhere safe.
So, I'm not scared.

I have my pets with me.

I miss you.
I hope we'll meet in person.

- We will.
- I won't cry.

They live with the noise
of explosions and sirens every day.

My mother got pets to relieve her stress.

We have to focus
on what we can control.

Otherwise, we run the risk
of falling into despair.

I do my best and work hard here.

I want her to stay strong over there.

Wondering what she could do to help people in her homeland, Anna put a post on social media.

A Japanese company entrusted her with recruiting Ukrainian IT specialists.

Wishing to offer a bit of hope for the future in spite of the current situation, she accepted to help without pay.

Thanks to Anna's cooperation, Slava Yezhov found work for a Japanese employer.

Living as an evacuee away from his hometown of Kyiv, he had to make a tough decision for his business.

...because we had some partnership with companies from Belarus, from Russia...

...peaceful resistance, yes, so...

...avoid business with Russia.

Under contract with a Japanese firm in the beauty industry, Slava is designing their website.

It opens a wide range of opportunities, and I'm happy!

- I'm so glad I could be of help.
- Thank you.

I'm so grateful to you.

In addition, Anna was contacted by a Ukrainian refugee who recently arrived in Kyoto.

Anastasiya Horoshko is from the western city of Lviv.

My family remained in Ukraine.
I no longer had the fortitude to stay.

Hiding underground, knowing my house
could be destroyed at any moment...

was too frightening to bear.

Even now, because of my decision
to leave Ukraine...

I feel I've betrayed my country.

To help appease the worries of people like Anastasiya, Anna believes it's important to be by their side, in any way possible.

To provide further support to people in her home country, Anna has started a new undertaking.

An app that would help alleviate the hardships of menopause.

Successfully starting the project would create new employment for her fellow Ukrainians.

We could use the ‘symptoms' function
from our current app...

and add one that would evaluate
things like hot flashes.

- What's this new app's core function?
- Information.

- Information for what?
- To know oneself.

- What for?
- To alleviate the stress.

We need to connect the information
with the symptoms.

You're right.

But systemizing the complex and eclectic symptoms of menopause is easier said than done.

Ivan's expertise in biomedical engineering is indispensable.

I'm a dreamer.

So, I need someone who's level-headed
to work with me...

to turn my ideas into something
concrete and feasible.

Menopause is very complicated.
It varies from one person to another.

For other things, it's simple
to keep track of periods.

It's easy to understand what kind
of service the users want.

But women going through menopause
simply want to feel better.

The key is to manage what's at the core
of their symptoms, but...

there's no clear link between them.

I don't know what to focus on,
what value to offer.

They set the goal of launching the app within this year.

Anna decides to visit a place she particularly loves.

This is the best!

After about an hour train ride from Kyoto...

...she arrives at Japan's biggest lake, Biwa, in Shiga Prefecture.

This place reminds her of her hometown by the sea.

When stress, ideas, thoughts
and emotions pile up...

my mind feels sluggish,
less sharp.

So, it's important to come to the sea,
or Lake Biwa here...

to clear my head and recharge my battery.

My mind feels refreshed,
and I can take a new approach.

Development of the app has reached a new phase.

Anna is having a discussion with an acquaintance who's been struggling with the symptoms of menopause.

Menopause is very different from
one woman to another.

And I've been unable to figure out
what troubles women the most.

Well, I can say from my experience...

that it's how I felt like something
was suddenly wrong with me.

You mean that, on top of the intensity
of the symptoms, you felt...

you didn't understand
what was causing them?

Yes, I didn't know it was menopause.
I didn't know what caused it.

In addition to treatment, an app
that would let me know the early signs...

of my symptoms would be great.

I see. And perhaps a way to compare
your health before and during treatment?

Exactly.

- And a way to help manage medication.
- Yes.

Anna, who'd been stumbling around in the dark, now realizes the importance of having as many discussions like this as possible.

I want to help people.

So, I need to hear
what they need help with.

But if I can't visualize this,
I can't start to take action.

Now I have a better mental picture,
I feel we're making steady progress.

Anna's determination to help her fellow Ukrainians back home...

...as well as women around the world...

...drives her onward.

I want to offer freedom.

Freedom is what's most important,
and being healthy is part of that.

Not just physically, but also mentally.
I want people to know the importance...

of being free.

Hi, I’m Aki Lappalainen.
My wife and I run a bakery in Kamakura.

Finnish people eat bread　
at almost every meal.

In Finland, there’s a belief　
that rye bread makes you strong.

Kamakura is famous for sightseeing.

4:00 a.m.
work starts I will drink little bit coffee to wake up in the morning.

Aki bakes Finnish bread
with natural yeast he makes.

This is sourdough.

Everything has some kind of starter dough.

The most important thing about breads is basically the flour ingredients and how you make them.

Rye is an essential ingredient
for baking Finnish bread.

Some people like, when they spread the flower, they... they do, they throw it around and it's everywhere and then, then it looks good,

but you have to clean it from the walls later. I don't do that.

Like, sourdough rye bread is the... for the Finnish people, Finnish persons, like, everybody's favorite; everybody eats it basically every day.

Even the big pizza chains have rye pizzas, and, I think it's fair to say, rye pizzas are quite Finnish thing, yeah, it is.

Aki decided to become a baker
when he was 25.

I went to Australia for a trip for about two years, working...working holiday.

I started thinking, ‘What do I miss about Finland?’ There is a few things and one is sauna, which I always miss,

and then...then the bread.

That's when I really started thinking about the bakery.

Aki married a Japanese woman
he met in Australia.

The two of them trained and studied
in order to open their bakery.

I’m Lappalainen Yuko.
I attend customers, among other things.

I feel the character of the baker
shows through in the bread they make.

Aki is calm and quiet,
and I love the bread he bakes.

The shop’s lineup of 20 kinds of bread
is ready for opening time at 10:00.

My name is Misa.

Misa, you’re our bakery’s illustrator.

Misa created the logo
for her parents’ bakery.

This is Mom and Dad.

Mommy looks like an eggplant.

I drew it...

when I was 4 or 5.

Customers like her drawings,
so we use them for our designs.

She often draws when she comes here.

It’s Rye Bread Man.

He looks like rye bread
because it’s our main product.

"How would you like the bakery to be?"

Without any fighting.

Aki and I always work together.

So, we argue a lot.

- I don’t argue.
- Yes, you do!

Aki and Yuko have been
running the bakery for 5 years.

More and more rye bread fans come from afar
for some authentic Finnish rye bread.

I like the taste of the rye sourdough.
It gets more flavorful as you chew.

Well, this is Karelian pie mold, and it's my treasure.

Karelian pie is traditional Finnish pastry.

It has a thin rye crust with rice porridge inside.

When the rice came from foreign countries to Finland, it was first very expensive.

So then, what... this kind of rice was like, only for special events and celebrations.

This bread, I wanted to make it in Japan, but there's no this kind of molds.

So, my wife's uncle, he was kind enough to make it for me.

So, this is the only Karelian pie mold handmade in Japan.

The virus changed something. Now, it's used for online shop. So, we’re sending breads all over Japan.

It's really exciting when somebody orders from Hokkaido or Okinawa or...

So, that... that's what I want to work for more in the future as well.