Town twinning association invited to traditional Christmas party
Rheine. A review of the events of the year that is now coming to an end and a look ahead to the first dates in 2024 were the focus of the pre-Christmas meeting of the members of the town twinning association at the Caritas children’s and youth home at the weekend. But before Chairman Reiner Wellmann reviewed the year, he warmly congratulated Margret Borkmann and Clemens Schöpker. Both had been awarded the town’s citizens’ prize Rheine the previous weekend. “We are proud to have two such committed and active volunteer members in our ranks,” said Wellmann. He also gave a special welcome to the chairman of the partner committee Borne, who had come to Rheine with his wife.
The visitors enjoyed a cake buffet, which was well-stocked by the members, before the chairman briefly discussed the events of the year. A large part of this was taken up by the events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the partnership with Borne. And the events were wonderfully summarized in a film presented by Gerd Cosse. It was amazing to see how many encounters there had been between many citizens. The audience thanked him with lots of applause. There will also be many wonderful joint events in the new year, about which all members will be informed in good time.
Six young people from the Portuguese twin town Leiria came to Rheine as interns. In the fall, there was another student exchange, which continues to be very popular. Nijole Miskinite and Jonas Kriauciunas from Trakai, who have been guarantors of the town twinning work for many years, were bid farewell at a ceremony in Bentlage Monastery. And the Rheine-Bernburg days were organized with the twin town Bernburg in October.
The town twinning association was also preoccupied with the war in Ukraine. A number of projects to help traumatized children in war zones were supported financially. Just at the beginning of December, donations were transferred to a rehabilitation center for children in Nikolaev and a psychological rehabilitation facility in Odessa. And thanks to the support of a member, functional underwear, socks and towels worth 2,600 euros were purchased for soldiers on the front line a few days ago. The board of the town twinning association is happy to receive further donations to support people in need in various places in Ukraine. The donation account: IBAN DE65403500050000064253, keyword: Spendenaktion Ukraine, at Stadtsparkasse Rheine.
After a relaxed exchange of ideas, the traditional meeting ended in the early hours of the evening. For some members, the event continued on Sunday, when 90 senior citizens from Borne were welcomed and accompanied to the town hall to enjoy the St. Nicholas market, Emszauber and Sunday shopping. www.friendsineurope.com