Bridges of Trust

On 3-7 October 2022, a delegation from Fastiv municipality in Kyiv region traveled to Lithuania to visit their Bridges of Trust partner-municipality Druskininkai.
 
The two partners first met in November 2021 through the Bridges of Trust project, implemented by CEMR, PLATFORMA and supported by the U-LEAD with Europe programme. Followig online bilateral meetings and presentation of municipalities, the visit to Druskininkai was organized to meet in person.
 
The visit had the following main goals:

• physically meet the partners for the first time;
• discover the best practices of the Druskininkai partner municipality with a strong focus on rehabilitation;
• discuss the possibility of a joint project in the field of rehabilitation and the future of the cooperation.

 
According to Yuliia Kazakova, medical director of the Fastiv hospital, pediatrician, head of the project "Psychological and medical assistance to children and their families affected by the war":
 
“For me personally, the visit to Lithuania, to the picturesque town of Druskininkai, has been important, because of the incredible support of the European community and of every Lithuanian. Once again it strengthened my confidence that Ukraine is not alone, we are part of the European family, prosperity and well-being await our country.
 
From a professional point of view, I express my sincere gratitude to my Lithuanian medical colleagues. Their experience in providing complex rehabilitation services to adults and children will help us in organizing rehabilitation of our own children and their families suffering from war. I hope that future cooperation and joint projects between Fastiv and Druskininkai municipalities will be fruitful and effective.”
 
To this, the Secretary of the Fastiv City Council, Liudmyla Rudiak, stressed his confidence in the utility of such visits to rehabilit Ukrainian cities:
 
“I can confidently say that I received a lot of motivation to use the acquired knowledge for the development of our community. The Druskininkai team shared their experience in the field of rehabilitation, social, youth, and educational initiatives. It is clear that good project management and access to European funds make it possible to develop and expand the capabilities of the local self-government. Special thanks to Druskininkai for the hospitality, openness, willingness to cooperate and support Ukraine.”
 
The partners are now exploring the opportunities to apply for EU funding to support a joint project in the sphere of healthcare and rehabilitation.