Children of Chernobyl
How the project
started
In April 1986, a nuclear reactor in Chernobyl in the
Ukraine exploded.
Much of the world was affected by fallout and radiation, but the worst
affected areas were Ukraine itself and Belarus, over the border. Areas
there are still heavily contaminated today, and as a result there are
serious health problems, especially among young people. Many of these
people were not born at the time of the accident.
All over Belarus, there is a high incidence of childhood cancers, gross
birth defects, diabetes; the health problems are horrendous and on a
staggering scale. In some areas there are no healthy children at all;
every child is affected. This is compounded by the chronic poverty in the
area, caused by political and economic upheavals, as well as the explosion
itself.
One family in Belarus witnessed the effects on their children, and
recognised their own inability to address the problem. They started a
group called the 'Children of Chernobyl Foundation' and began to make
contacts abroad, to channel in aid. This group now has many links,
including one with the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The Sacred
Heart Church, with the support of the Parish Priest and the Parish
Pastoral Council, is now supporting this cause.
The Foundation aims to send children abroad for respite care in healthy
areas. They find that every month of good living adds an extra two years
to a child's life. For the children being cared for at home, they are
looking for vitamin supplements and painkillers which are not readily
available there.
In September 2001, a group of youth workers from Belarus will be
visiting Scotland and the aim of our project is to invite them to the
Sacred Heart Church and present them with as many medical supplies as they
can carry back. If we have money left over, we will contribute towards
respite care too.
To achieve this, we have launched an appeal for every member of the
parish to carry out some fund raising, either individually or in groups.
Particularly we are hoping that young people of the parish will become
involved and raise funds to help relieve the suffering of people in their
own age group.
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Children of Chernobyl - Final Report -How the money was gathered and spent
Once the appeal was launched on Sunday 10 June, the people of the parish set to work to raise money in many imaginative ways. Funds arrived each week in large amounts and small, and came from raffles, competitions, sales of work, cake and tablet stalls, bookstalls, home printing, coffee mornings and toy sales, as well as some very generous donations. The fund raising culminated with a concert which raised over £600 in one evening.
By the time collecting finished, the fund total had reached £4,118.86.
The group of 12 young people from the state of Belarus arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday 2 September for a 3 week visit, funded by the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women, and planned and organised by our Archdiocesan office. Being next to Ukraine, Belarus received a great deal of the radioactive pollution from the Chernobyl disaster.
The 12 young people included 2 full time workers for the Children of Chernobyl charity, as well as 10 students who help on a part time voluntary basis. Although their visit was packed with events relating to youth work, they also had time to meet members of the public and parishioners at an open day at the Cathedral, and a week later at the Sacred Heart.
The group horrified us with accounts of conditions in Belarus. We had known about the widespread health problems and birth deformities, but we had not anticipated the scale of social problems in the Belarus capital city of Minsk; the despair felt by young families; the consequent high levels of alcoholism and vagrancy, and eventual imprisonment and family break-ups; the hopelessness of older people relocated at short notice from their contaminated rural homes into high rise blocks in Minsk.
Our young visitors were healthy, but no-one knows what problems they will encounter in the future. In a short time many of them will face the decision of whether or not to have children, then the frightening wait to see if their babies are born healthy, or deformed and ill. This is not a decision they can postpone for long, as many women in Belarus are unable to conceive beyond age 30.
It is a chilling thought that their 3 week visit, eating uncontaminated food and breathing our air, is likely to extend their lives by a year or more. In view of their home circumstances, many of us found their cheerfulness and zest for living to be very humbling.
The group was extremely grateful to receive the donation from the Sacred Heart parishioners and the small welcome gifts bought with some of the money. As planned previously, our appeal fund provided the Children of Chernobyl charity with a supply of vitamins, calcium supplements and painkillers which cannot easily be obtained in Belarus. This first consignment was as large as the group could carry in their personal luggage without incurring the attention of their Customs officials who have been known to confiscate such supplies.
Some money was retained for a further, larger consignment to be sent with a party from the Archdiocese when they visit Minsk in spring 2002. Foreign visitors are able to carry more goods without danger of losing them to Customs, and they deliver to the correct destination more reliably than the Belarussian postal service. The bulk of the money was then transferred to an account held by Children of Chernobyl charity and will be used by them to airlift sick people abroad for medical treatment.
The complete breakdown of spending was therefore:
| 12 welcome packs of toiletries, sweets, souvenirs from Sacred Heart Church, prayer cards and other small gifts. | £105.05 |
| 1st consignment of vitamins, calcium supplements and painkillers - small enough to pass through Customs in Belarus. |
£262.21 |
| Money retained in church funds for larger consignment to be taken by Archdiocesan visitors in spring 2002. |
£750.28 |
| Funds transferred to account held by Children of Chernobyl for medical treatment abroad | £3,001.32 |
|
Fund total |
£4,118.86 |
Kate Crichton
Parish Pastoral Council
October 2001
With our Archbishop, Keith O'Brien at dinner at Gillis Centre the night before they left.
Transcript of fax dated 22.10.2001 sent initially to Rhona Kennedy at the Diocesan office, and forwarded to the parishioners of the Sacred Heart.
From
Belarussian Charitable Fund "For the Children of Chernobyl"
14, Starovilenskaya Str., Minsk, 220029, REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
Tel: (00375)(172)341215,342153 Fax(00375)(172)343458
E-mail: childr@user.unibel.by
Belarussian Charitable Fund "For the Children of Chernobyl" express its deepest gratitude for the warm welcome you gave to the young leaders from Belarus who visited Edinburgh from September, 2 till September, 23 2001 under the auspices of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women and Edinburgh City Council Community Education Department.
Thank you for everything you have done for the group of young Belarussians and for our organisation. Thank you for a wonderful and interesting program, for useful contacts with youth organisations from Edinburgh. Thank you for your kind heart, endless care, attention, sympathy and compassion. Thank you for giving an opportunity to visit your unforgettable country, to meet kind Scottish people, thank you for making these three weeks a real paradise for the young people from Belarus. They returned home full of great and marvellous memories, new energy, strength and strong desire to start new projects and to change life in the country for the better.
New knowledge and information about new models, methods and forms of social work being used in Scotland were a great stimulation for the young people to promote new concepts of social work with children of Chernobyl and people from contaminated areas here in Belarus within the fund’s projects.
We are convinced that if many people living in many small places take many small steps, they can change the world. By such small steps through which we are bringing joy, peace and kindness to other people’s lives we are making small changes not only in the world around us but, first of all, in ourselves. Thank you for making these steps together with us, thank you for your help to the people from Belarus, thank you for not being indifferent to the problems and troubles of other people.
Unfortunately we are not "strong" enough to change the situation in Belarus and our life for the better at once, but we are trying to do it taking small steps, carrying out small projects. Let’s continue our co-operation promoting mutual understanding between nations, a culture of peace and non-violence in the world.
Thank you for your kind assistance and co-operation. We hope to be in touch with you. Looking forward to meeting you in Minsk in the nearest future at the 6th international youth conference "Look into the Future".
With great respect and heart thanks,
Prof. Dr. Gennady grushevoy
Chairman of Board of Directors of The Belarussian Charitable Fund
"For the Children of Chernobyl"
Part of the Website of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation gives the results of the international scientific investigations into the effects of the contamination on the health of the inhabitants of areas like Belarus.
Message to the Parish - Oct 2002
2001 Project - Children of Chernobyl