GRIET MENSCHAERT: Korotych, Ukraine

Varia and me at work in Korotych

I have been in the house and village of my colleagues Varia and Vitaly for 2 days only now, and feel very inspired already. We have been discussing a lot of ideas and I am now filtering them and deciding which ones deserve our attention the most. Life has a different pace here, and I am happy I can experience that. Sadly, at the moment the threat of war is in everyone's heart. But people live on, of course - talking about war is not a most fun thing to do. I am grateful for my friends and their good energy and great care, especially in these difficult times.

This afternoon I met some other colleagues in Kharkiv. It is wonderful to find all in good health and full of ideas and hopes for the future. It is intriguing how much they are aware and trying to give meaning to the current Ukrainian and global situation. When I heard that some of their friends have been called to serve in the army already and that all men until 27 cannot get a passport to leave the country at the moment, it put things in perspective. Some more projects will probably originate from these meetings today. We all realize the importance of keeping the connection.

If I simply look around and take on the role of the tourist, I see a lot of beauty and potential.