Lyman 🇺🇦 & Westport 🇺🇸
FRIENDSHIP FORGED IN HISTORY
In the years after World War II Westport helped rebuild the French town of Marigny-le-Lezon. For many years Westport sent money, supplies, food and Christmas gifts to their Normandy “Sister City.” Marigny never forgot Westport. In the spring of 2021, Marigny named a room in their town hall for a Staples High School French teacher who was a driving force behind the relationship.
Now these 2 towns, Westport and Marigny, join together to help rebuild a third in Ukraine.
On December 19, 2022 Westport announced a new city to join their relationship, Lyman UA. An initial Zoom call was held between the first Selectwoman of Westport Jen Tooker, the local media blogger Dan Woog, UAI leadership Brian and Marshall Mayer, 5 members of a Westport steering committee, and 2 officials from Lyman.
A missile strike just hours before the call limited communications for the Lyman leadership, luckily they were able to use Starlink to join the inaugural conversation.
On the call Lyman Mayor Alexander Victoravich Zuravlov described the urgent needs of his community: plywood, roofs, generators, medication, Starlinks, tractors, trash and debris removal equipment.
Ruslan Goriachenko, chief of the Ukrainian national police human rights department, added more needs: police and fire trucks.
The Westport community was stunned by the needs in Lyman, and empowered by the opportunity given us. Together they turned to UAI to understand what was realistic and how to prioritize so many urgent needs.
This first call was the spark to a year of conversations, logistics, learning, and aid delivery for Lyman. Together the people of Westport are strengthening their Ukrainian neighbors, one aid delivery at a time. The UAI team is honored to be the conduit of this support and will continue to help implement support across these three cities, Westport, Marginey, and Lyman.
DIRECTLY SUPPORT LYMAN, UKRAINE
In accordance with our core principles, we work diligently to maintain real time relationships with community leadership that allow us to focus donations on specific things each city needs.
Donations are tax deductible and 100% of your donation will go towards the humanitarian assistance you wish to support
Follow the Lyman Mission Log to stay updated on the impact of your donation. Please consider sharing the impact of our work with your network, together we are helping Ukraine endure.
LATEST UPDATES
- Bakhmut, Bohorodychne, Donestk Oblast, Druzhkivka, Druzhkivka - Ridgefield, Friendship City, Humanitarian Aid, Kherson, Kherson Oblast, Kostiantynivka - Fairfield, Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk, Kramatorsk - Stamford, Lyman, Lyman - Westport, News, Other, Siversk, Siversk - Weston, Soledar, Sumy, Sumy - Sacramento, Sviatohirsk, Sviatohirsk - Easton - Ashland
December 2023
Another wonderful holiday celebration was made possible thanks to support from Friendship Cities Westport, USA, Marginey, France, and Didcot, England. Over 650 gifts were distributed to youth across Lyman with support from volunteers.
April, 2023
As with many cities on the front lines of the war certain municipal work has halted or slowed thanks to the prioritization of materials, vehicles, and people towards the fighting efforts. That has left Lyman without proper resources for trash disposal, a critical yet underestimated support for any city.
April, 2023
In preparation for the coming summer UAI staff delivered seeds to the agricultural hub of Lyman in hopes of providing citizens the resources they need to keep their food supply autonomous.
February 2023
In an effort to prevent further degradation of attacked buildings across Lyman the city of Westport raised funds for materials to support and reconstruct the city. The 20 ton truck was loaded with plywood and metal sheets that will be used to strengthen buildings.
December 2022
An early and exceptionally special holiday was celebrated by the UAI Ukraine based team and the citizens of Lyman as we delivered gifts to civilians across the city!
Interested in getting involved?
Join the Friendship City Committee
Each Friendship City has a group of volunteers who organize events, fundraisers, and community engagement to keep morale high and our neighbors involved in the work. We are always grateful to have new volunteers join these efforts.
