On September 19, 2024, the head of the Chuguiv city military administration, Galina Minaeva, had a meaningful conversation with representatives of the French municipality of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is a commune in the Lower Normandy region of France. Its population is 77,808. The main industries are windmill production, shipbuilding, and commercial fishing.
This year, a Memorandum on the organization of summer leisure for Ukrainian children was concluded between the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Chuguiv City Council of Kharkiv Region and the Europe Shelter Program under the auspices of Libraries Without Borders Belgium.
As a result, 16 children from the Chuguiv community aged 11 to 17 visited the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. Among them were children of the dead and wounded defenders of Ukraine, as well as children of the military. For 2 weeks, our French friends organized a rich program for them: visits to museums, exhibitions, city tours, boat trips, meetings with peers in youth centers, familiarization with traditional French sports games, and a visit to the swimming pool.
Today, Galina Minaeva had the opportunity to express her immense gratitude to the French partners for giving the children of Chuguiv the opportunity to at least temporarily escape the horrors of war, see how Europeans live, and communicate with their peers from France.
We also talked about areas of further partnership. In addition to new visits by children's delegations to France, it may now include cooperation between educational institutions. We also agreed to sign an Act of Solidarity between our communities in the near future.
Despite difficult times for Ukraine, the circle of friends of the Chuhuiv community is expanding.