Exactly one year after we started the first meetings with Ukrainian newcomers providing weekly dinners and information sessions regarding their integration into the local community, the Together project will be re-opening this June and run until December. In this new season, an art project encompassing all ages and special activities dedicated to the elderly as well as for mothers of children aged from 0 to 4 years old will be held, while emotional support is also offered for kids.
Road of Hope launched ‘Together’in May of 2022 without knowing how meaningful it would become to a growing community in need. After more than a year of the beginning of the full-scale bombing of Ukraine by Russian forces, 8 million Ukrainians have become refugees scattered across Europe, with almost 90 thousand in The Netherlands, the coordinator of Together, Ukrainian artist Alina Bielun, shares the importance of this initiative to her own process of building a new sense of belonging. She believes that “home is something that needs to be created”, and for her, it means not losing the connection to her hometown, country and people, but building a bridge. To better understand the importance of the Together Project, read the full conversation here.
Together is thus committed to providing a link to refugees with their home country and their neighbourhood while also offering opportunities to connect with the host community.