Chernobyl Children's Project International

video: watch ccpi volunteers in action in chernobyl affected regions

This 10-minute video was filmed in the fall by Ireland's RTE television, and shows Chernobyl Children's Project International volunteers in action in the Mogilev region of Belarus.

One of the children prominently featured in the piece -- Victor, the little boy with the cleft palate and tracheotomy tube -- died shortly after the filming. (Here is a photo I took of his grave last month).  His loss was a terrible reminder that children belong in families, not in institutions.

Along those lines, the film also introduces Ina Gudkovskie, who lived in an orphanage before joining a real family in one of CCPI's "homes of hope."  You can click here to learn more about the  Gudkovskie family, and watch the video to hear Ina (who speaks English) talk about how having a mother and father has changed her life.  Click the links to read the about the Zhila and Savin families -- happy homes made up of children who had suffered lives of neglect and abuse.  If you want to learn more about sponsoring a family home for children who have been living in orphanages, please email me.

Finally, the film updates the story of Vesnova asylum resident Sasha Levkin, who along with his friend Sasha appeared in the film Chernobyl Heart.  (Both boys are pictured here -- Sasha Levkin is seen holding a photo of Chernobyl's Hero, a Karakorum race horse
whose winnings are donated to CCPI.) Both boys have reached the age when they would typically be transfered to an adult asylum, where they would be warehoused until death.  The boys have feared and dreaded this prospect  for the 7 years we have known them.  In the film, you will see CCPI founder Adi Roche promising Sasha (as he weeps with happiness) that CCPI volunteers will build them a home of their own.   As I write this, that promise is coming true -- a CCPI volunteer team is in Mogilev right now building a disability accessible home for the two Sashas, and for 8 other disabled young adults who will be able to live with dignity, rather than being transfered to an adult institution.

When I talked to the two Sashas last month, however, "dignity" was not the word rolling off their lips -- it was more like: "Party!"  (Don't worry, we've hired staff to assist the young people and provide supervision!)  They were brimming over with excitement and anticipation.  After all of the difficulties Sasha has been through, it is almost surreal to realize that when I next see him, he will be able to serve me tea in his very own home.

program keeps disabled children at home, not in orphanages

In previous updates we've shown how devastating life is for mentally or physically disabled children who live out their lives in orphanages.  And, without intervention, the grim future they face as institutionalized adults segregated from society forever. Thanks to your financial support, we've also been able to tell you happier stories -- stories of our foster families. These amazing families have joined children -- all of whom lived in orphanages and have histories of loss, abuse and neglect -- with parents eager to share their love and provide a secure and nurturing home.

This update is about our Community Care program. This program -- serving 18 children in Minsk, Belarus but set for expansion -- takes disabled children off the waiting lists for orphanages, and provides their families with the support they need to care for their children at home.

Visiting these families last month, I was struck by the unique determination of these parents -- often single mothers -- who care for their children at home in a region where institutionalization is the norm. Chernobyl Children's Project International provides therapeutic home visits, training and supplies for families, outings and other types of support, such as swimming pool visits, accessible home adaptations, and camping experiences for the children. But the passion to overcome obstacles and make it all work comes from the parents themselves.

Andrei, pictured at the top of this post, is an 11 year old with cerebral palsy and autism.  He's a happy and well cared for boy, and his mother is delighted with him -- but clearly exhausted by his activity level.  He is in constant, exhuberant, and barely controlled motion.  It was great to see their loving bond, but I couldn't help but think what a handful he will be as they both get older. They will need all the  support they can get.

Ignat, the calm and handsome boy pictured in my lap to the right , is 6 years old and like many of our children in the program has cerebral palsy.  He lives with his mother, who is single, and his grandmother in a tiny, one bedroom apartment.  A wheelchair lift on the stairs built by CCPI volunteers, and a wheelchair accessible van (paid for with your donations) make it possible for him to enjoy pool therapy visits and trips to McDonald's (a popular treat for the kids and their parents!)

The little girl pictured in the pink jacket is 6 year old Nadya. She has cerebral palsy and suffers frequent seizures.  In the photo she is held by CCPI board member Michael Rodin -- but I enlarged the photo to focus on her lovely face and eyes.  Her eyes are the only responsive part of her, until we turn on her music box and her mouth explodes into a smile. Their apartment had no furniture or comforts and Tanya, Nadya's mother, seemed  to be extraordinarily stressed, on "on the edge."  She told us she was not sure how long she would be able to continue caring for Nadya at home.  This is clearly a family we need to observe and support carefully in the coming months.

Thirteen year old Marguerita is pictured with medical care program coordinator Valentin Chernyakevich, who manages the staff of Belarusian therapists who make home visits to our children.  An inoperable tumor on her spine has taken away her ability to walk. But she uses a wheelchair provided by your donations, and a ramp built by CCPI building program volunteers allows her to get out with her mother and participate in fun activities organized by Valentin and his staff. Last summer, she attended one of our camps for disabled children, and she loves her regular trips to the swimming pool.  She told us she would like to have a chance to ride a horse. Marguerita speaks a bit of English -- it's her favorite subject when a teacher comes in to visit her, and she loves to get letters written in English. She is proud of her mother's singing voice, and urged her to sing Belarusian folks songs to us. She is a very happy and optimistic girl.

Eighteen children, and families who critically need professional and social support in order to care for them at home.  All of them would be in institutions without this program.  Cared for by strangers, they would be extremely vulnerable. Please consider making a donation to help us continue this program, and expand it to help more disabled children avoid the horror of institutionalization and stay with their families where they belong.

zhila family: children heal wounds of tragic past, face hopeful future

Two weeks ago, we visited the Zhila family in the Ossipovichi, Mogliev region of Belarus.  The Zhilas are a part of Chernobyl Children's Project International's foster families program -- we take children out of orphanages and place them in carefully selected, real family homes.

You can read the stories of the Savin and Gudkovskie families -- remarkable families with amazing stories of survival.

We spent the previous night at an orphanage.  As our van navigated the country roads toward Ossipovichi, I knew that seeing children in a loving family would be a jarring and welcome contrast. But I was haunted by the knowledge that these 10 children -- ages 5 to 16 -- have shocking stories of loss and neglect. 

As we arrived, Petr (the father), was putting finishing touches on a new porch. He had been busy since our last visit, building bookshelves and desks for the children, and expanding the family areas of the home.  His wife Galina made tea and told us how the children are adapting to family life.  (Go to our website to see video of sisters singing a song to us.)

The children pulled our hands and excitedly took us from one room to the next. They giggled as they showed off their bedrooms, their new desks, their school projects and personal treasures.  Looking at their happy faces I remembered terrible stories from their recent pasts.  About how the birth mother of Tanya (11),  Sasha (10) , and Kirill (5) spent food money on alcohol and left the children to starve. They found bits of potato peel to fry on the fire. How their father beat them with a stick after they ran away, and how they watched as he broke their mother’s legs.  How they rescued her when she tried to commit suicide by hanging, and by cutting her wrists.

When Andrea (11)  and Roxana (7) lost their mother in an accident, their father medicated his grief with alcohol.  He tried to quit but couldn't, and they moved to their beloved grandmother's home. A house fire killed their grandmother, and left Roxana with burns over 30% of her body.  Scars from her burns peeked out from the neck of her blouse as she and the other children performed songs for us and played with each other.

In the parlour I spotted a small shrine to their dead 5 year old son, and I realized that Galina and Petr knew something themselves about loss and moving on. 

No doubt many challenges are ahead for this newly formed family.  And yet, today, it seems natural for them to be together.  The children behave as if they’ve been together forever. And Galina and Petr are grateful for their large family, and determined to surround their children with love and prepare them for a hopeful future.

The Zhila home was sponsored by the Cork Outreach Group of Chernobyl Children’s Project International.  If you, your business, or community group would like to learn about sponsoring a “home of hope, email me.

tea with the savins

The nine small children sat at the long wooden table in the kitchen of a home in the Mogilev region of Belarus.  They chatted  happily as they slurped their tea with spoons.  The table was spread with sweets and cakes. Their foster mother, Tamara, moved around the table filling plates while her  husband Alfred reminded them to watch their manners in a gentle, no-nonsense voice.  It all was so natural and  comfortable. It was hard for me to imagine that two years ago, there was no family at all -- that each child had been living in a bleak orphanage. 

It took a bit of a miracle to bring this family together. About three years ago, Tamara and Alfred Savin had a newspaper delivered to them by mistake.  They almost didn't open it -- Alfred's position as an economics teacher kept him buried in books and grading papers, and Tamara was working full time as a diamond polisher. When Tamara finally looked at the newspaper she was stunned by the story of a baby boy who had been rescued from a latrine at a local milk farm.  His mother had given birth prematurely while on the job and had abandoned the child.  Her coworkers found little Valeriy where she left him, wrapped him in rags, and took him to the hospital where doctors were able to save his life.  The Savins were moved by the story . . and Valeriy -- who appears in the right corner of the photograph wearing green and blue coveralls -- became the first of their nine foster children with the help of CCPI's foster family program. 

You would think that a family with 9 small children would be chaotic, but Tamara's warmth is matched by Alfred's professorial formality and sense of order. The children played in the yard with abandon, but at Alfred's word they ran inside, removed and lined up their shoes, washed their hands and sat at the table. Alfred led them in prayer before they took their tea.  After tea, the children led us to the parlor where they entertained us with songs and poetry, and played Belarusian traditional instruments.  As we were leaving, Alfred took myself and Sherrie Douglas aside to let us know that he had the house inspected, and the electrical system did not pass code.  By luck, Chernobyl Children's Project International had a team of volunteer builders from Ireland working at the Vesnova Asylum, half an hour away.  Adi Roche was able to contact their head electrician and arrange for him to bring a team out that week to fix the problem. 

Alfred and Tamara Savin are a kind, capable, and hardworking couple who had room in their hearts to raise children without parents of their own.  We are committed to finding more parents like the Savins, and taking as many children as possible out of orphanages and placing them in families. 

the gudkovskie family: "all together we have our future"

This spring we stopped in to visit with the Gudkovskie family of Stariye Dorogi in Belarus.  We'd just spent a couple days at a local orphanage, and to see children in a loving family environment was a jarring  and welcome contrast. The Gudkovskies were CCPI's first foster home -- a program in which we take children who are living in orphanages and place them into carefully selected homes where they can thrive in a loving environment. To date we've placed 40 children in such homes and the program is accelerating.

Three years ago, Natasha Gudkovskie was working at an orphanage.  She couldn't stop thinking about the sadness of children without families, and their bleak prospects for the future. One girl in particular made an impression on Natasha  -- a pre-teen named Katya.  Katya and her sister Irina had been placed in the orphanage after their father was imprisoned and mother started abusing alcohol.  The sisters made many attempts to run away from the orphanage.  Natasha and her husband Sergei were struck by the girls' will for a happy life, and took them in as their own children.

The family grew when Natasha and Sergei took in another  girl, Inna -- a friend of the sisters.  Inna had grown bitter and aggressive and had not been able to be placed in any family.  Her brother Oleg soon followed, and then Ivan, a kindergartner who was abandoned by his mother in Minsk.  Finally, they were joined by two year old twins Anton and Julia.  Katya told us how after her birth father was imprisoned

...my mother started to drink alcohol and she did it more and more often.  We children were starving, begging on the streets. Later on, I was placed in an orphanage . . . there were strict regulations and no care for a child's personality.  I wanted to return to the days when I had a family.  Now I've found a new family where I feel very happy.  I know that all together we have our future. The main treasure I have is our family. 

The family prepared a big celebratory meal to greet us, with Sergei grilling meat outside, and a table spread with every kind of sweet and savory. The children, especially the girls, doted over Sergei, a handsome man with a striking mouthful full of gold teeth.  We look forward to seeing them again.