As part of the project "Side by Side: Cohesive Communities," the Berezivska community of Zhytomyr Oblast held an online meeting with the Andriyivska community, an outpost of Donetsk Oblast.
It was not just an event - it was a conversation of hearts, where every word sounded like a reminder of the highest value of our time - peace.
At the meeting, the participants talked about how our understanding of the word "peace" has changed. Today, it is measured not only by the silence overhead, but also by the depth of the losses experienced by the Ukrainian people. Peace has become a dream and a suffering, it is necessary as air, especially for our children whose childhood was wounded by war.
A special emotional highlight of the event was watching a video prepared by the participants of the educational process of the Berezivska community. The photos and videos showed the moments of school events dedicated to the Day of Peace: themed class hours, the creation of drawings, posters and applications, and the symbolic action "White Cranes of Peace" where children's hands created images of hope.
The poetic lines that were read during the meeting were no less profound. They sounded symbolic, like a prayer, like a vow - that we believe and will definitely wait for peace, we just have to suffer and fight, to cherish hope for a brighter future where the word "peace" will become synonymous with happiness and security.
Today we meet online, through screens. But everyone carries the belief in their hearts that the time will come when these meetings will take place in live communication, when words of support will turn into sincere hugs, when the exchange of experience will become personal and filled with real human intimacy.
Based on the materials of Berezivka village council