Donated Pool

On February 19 a swimming pool for children aged from two to five years old was opened at Children’s Polyclinic No. 1 in Kyiv’s Kharkivsky district. The pool was restored due to the assistance of Germany’s Reemtsma Company, which donated most of the investments, and Britain’s Jones East 8, which supplied the manpower and organized the work through Ukraine’s D’Estate Company. Parents also took part in repairing the dressing rooms. And now, finally, thanks to the combined efforts of all these grownups, children of the Kharkivsky district have the chance to learn how to swim.

Phil Hudson, architect and the head of Jones East 8, thinks that “the pool looks good” and brings joy to the youngsters. He is convinced that junior swimming is a perfect way to develop strength and willpower. Coach Valentyna Lytvynenko, who in fact took the initiative in restoring the pool, shares his opinion. For many years she had been encouraging young mothers to start teaching their children to swim when they are four weeks old. According to the parent’s observations, junior swimmers leave behind children of the same age both mentally and physically.

The faucets of the restored children’s pool were opened by the ambassadors of Germany and Great Britain, their excellencies, Messrs. StЯdemann and Smith. Now the polyclinic, which already has working pools for infants and children aged from two to five-years-old, hopes to find a sponsor for renewing the pool for older children.