Relief supplies reach Bila Tserkva
The first delivery of relief supplies provided by the city of Braunschweig reached Bila Tserkva. 1,200 sleeping bags, 3,000 bed sets, 15,000 rescue blankets and 25 generators arrived in the city on 12 January and will provide immediate help to the people of Bila Tserkva. Due to rocket attacks, parts of the city's critical infrastructure have been destroyed.
“I am very pleased that we were able to quickly provide some help to the people in these difficult times,” said Lord Mayor Dr Thorsten Kornblum. Further deliveries of relief supplies are in preparation.
The relief supplies were procured in cooperation with the “Service Agency Communities in One World” with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to protect the people from the cold and to help secure local infrastructure in Bila Tserkva.
Fundraising campaign for Ukraine Aid - Braunschweig schools fold “1000 cranes for peace”
Braunschweig schools were invited in spring 2022 to fold origami cranes. The paper cranes could then be purchased for a donation at the Tourist Info and at the city library and bookshops. The donations were to go to Ukraine Aid.
The following 14 schools participated in the project “1000 cranes for peace” and folded significantly more than the hoped-for 1000 paper cranes:
Wilhelmgymnasium, Gymnasium Martino-Katharineum, Sally-Perel-Gesamtschule, IGS Heidberg, IGS Franzsches Feld, IGS Querum, Realschule John-F.-Kennedy-Platz, Realschule Nibelungenstraße, Grundschule Querum, Grundschule Veltenhof, Grundschule Broitzem, Grundschule Völkenrode and the Astrid-Lindgren-Förderschule.
Already in May, Lord Mayor Dr Kornblum had visited the Astrid-Lindgren-Förderschule and folded cranes together with the pupils participating in the campaign. Afterwards, he was able to take the first 100 cranes back to the town hall.
Partnership agreement with Bila Tserkva signed
At the suggestion of Lord Mayor Dr Thorsten Kornblum, in November 2022, the Braunschweig City Council approved a solidarity partnership with the central Ukrainian city of Bila Tserkva.
Bila Tserkva has around 220,000 inhabitants, is located in the Kiev oblast about 80 kilometres southwest of the capital and has so far been spared major destruction. However, the town is a focal point for many internally displaced persons and has been severely affected by the ongoing attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
On 14 December 2022, the deputy mayor of the city, Kateryna Voznenko, visited Braunschweig with a small delegation and signed with Lord Mayor Dr Kornblum an agreement for a solidarity partnership. During the delegation's visit, a working meeting took place with local partners to discuss future cooperation and the need for support in the current crisis. These partners are the association “Freie Ukraine Braunschweig e. V.” and the foundation “Hof Schlüter” from Lüneburg, which has been providing help to Ukraine and in particular to the city of Bila Tserkva for many years.
The city of Braunschweig is currently preparing the delivery of relief supplies with the financial support from the “Service Agency Communities in One World” (SKEW) funded by the Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development. To protect the local people from the cold and to secure the critical infrastructure in Bila Tserkva, 3,000 bed sets, 15,000 rescue blankets, 1,200 sleeping bags as well as urgently needed generators are to be delivered to Ukraine at the beginning of January 2023.
In the evening, the guests from Bila Tserkva attended a concert event in St. Martin's Church by the KonzertChor Braunschweig e.V. and the MKantat school choir of the Martino-Katharineum Grammar School, conducted by Matthias Stanze. The donations collected at this event will be used for a project with young people from Bila Tserkva.
