“We are all different, but we are together”

On 25.11.2022, pupils of the Ukrainian Sunday School “Nadija” and their teachers visited Õismäe Gymnasium, where, together with its pupils and children from Meelespea kindergarten, they took part in the Estonian-Ukrainian project “We are all different, but we are together!”, held for the Day of Tolerance with the support of the organisation Mondo. The aim of the event was to introduce the children to the culture of our countries and understand what we have in common and how we differ.

It is a great honour and responsibility to introduce our Estonian friends to the symbols, traditions, songs and dances of our homeland. In turn, we learned a lot about Estonia from the pupils of TÕG.

The children were greeted and wished peace for Ukraine and success in their studies in Estonia by the First Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Estonia Leonid Tretiak, Haabersti District Elder Oleg Siljanov, director of Tallinna Õismäe Gümnaasium Kaja Toomsalu, director of Tallinna Meelespea Lasteaed Kristina Märks, and AUOE President and our school’s director Volodymyr Palamar.

The music teachers talked about folk instruments and played them: Aire Sibbul on the Estonian kannel and Liudmyla Hramiak on the Ukrainian bandura.

Today we sang the Ukrainian song “Chyzhyku, ptashechka malenka” together and danced the Estonian dance “Kaerajaan”, and at the end the song “Põdral maja metsa sees” rang out in both Estonian and Ukrainian.

The children received treats as a keepsake.

Thank you to the organisers and participants!