As 2008 draws to a close, we acknowledge with gratitude that you -- as a donor, volunteer, adviser, or fan -- touched thousands of lives in Chernobyl affected regions of Belarus and Ukraine, and achieve breakthroughs we never thought possible.
Times are hard economically, but with your confidence and support we can continue to invest in the future of children and families who are so much less fortunate than us. In this first of three updates on what we have accomplished together in 2008, we feature three programs: community centers, medical/therapeutic training, and volunteer medical teams.
Community Centers. In spring 2008, the government of Ireland granted CCPI funds to build 3 communities centers over the next two years. We evaluated many potential communities and selected sites in impoverished, at risk regions that have visionary and committed local leadership. This year, volunteers traveled to Belarus to start construction of a center in Glutsk, and centers in Buda Koshalova and Gorki will follow in 2009 . The centers will serve a wide variety of needs . . . day care for working parents, therapeutic services for disabled children, child care classes, vocational training, employment services, homework help, and more. The new buildings will follow on the success of our center in Zhytkovichi, funded by Pfizer International and built by CCPI volunteers. (Have you seen the film Return to Chernobyl? You can learn more about Zhytkovichi as you watch the story of architect and broadcaster Duncan Stewart's near fatal accident and rescue while designing this community center in 2003. You'll find the film on the CCPI Channel on YouTube.
Medical and therapeutic training. This year, volunteer nurses, dentists, surgeons and physical/occupational therapists traveled (at their own expense) to Belarus and Ukraine to work directly with children in understaffed institutions and hospitals and to train to their local counterparts. Training is a very important part of CCPI's mission -- it allows our peers in country to become self sufficient and adept at solving their own problems. In 2008, CCPI volunteers trained therapeutic and nursing staff at the Vesnova Children's Asylum in Belarus, and cardiac surgical teams at hospitals in Ukraine. We worked with the Belarus State University to train Belarusian students who will now be able to practice their skills in their own communities. Training in international best practices will continue to be a focus for our programs in 2009 -- it's the key to long term change.
Volunteer medical teams. This year, CCPI medical and therapeutic professionals traveled monthly from Ireland and the United States to work directly with children at an orphanage in Vesnova village, in a home care program for disabled children in Minsk, and in a children's hospice program in Gomel. The regular volunteer visits have dramatically improved quality of life for the children, and have become a life line of training and peer support for local medical and care giving staff who are on the job every day. Please help support this program by making a donation now, or apply to volunteer by emailing us your CV. Click here to see a video of CCPI volunteers in action. Click here to see photos of CCPI volunteers. And in this 2006 CBS News video, a CCPI volunteer describes her first time on a CCPI project.
Stay tuned: at home care for disabled children, cardiac programs, and Soltanovka
