The friendship between Klaipėda Lyceum and Odesa Lyceum “Harmony” began in 2025 with Christmas support. On May 7 this year, it grew stronger through a concert featuring 500 students, where a message of support was shared with the children of Odesa. Today, the words of friendship have become concrete action.
Four students from Odesa Lyceum “Harmony” – Andrii, Kira, Oleksandr and Timur – have already arrived in Klaipėda. Over the next two years, they will study at Klaipėda Lyceum as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP).
Klaipėda Lyceum has created all the necessary conditions for these young people to live and study here for the next two years, fully covering the costs of their education and living expenses in Klaipėda.
The newest members of the lyceum community have already had a chance to discover Klaipėda and visit the Curonian Spit and Palanga. They are happy to be living by the sea – just as they did in their hometown of Odesa.
Yet behind this new beginning lie difficult personal experiences. Andrii, Oleksandr and Timur were accompanied to Klaipėda by their mothers. After an emotional farewell, their mothers flew back home – to Odesa, a city that continues to come under constant attack, where air-raid sirens call people to seek shelter and lives are still being lost. The boys remained in Klaipėda, while their families stayed in Odesa.
Kira arrived in Klaipėda with her family, so during this time of major change, she has the support of those closest to her by her side.
For these young people, the opportunity to study, grow and build their future in peace means much more than a new school. It is a chance to live safely for at least two years, to hold on to their dreams and to look ahead with confidence.
In Klaipėda, we welcomed them not as recipients of support, but as members of our community – young people bringing with them their talents, dreams and a little piece of Odesa.
The distance between Klaipėda and Odesa has not changed. We have grown closer.
War separates people, while friendship does the opposite – it finds a way to bring people closer together. The four young people sitting in a Klaipėda Lyceum classroom today say more about the friendship between our cities and nations than hundreds of beautiful words ever could.
