Introduction
Meet Pavel, a 14 year old artist who lives in a orphanage in Belarus. Here is his story.
The Kletsk orphanage is 120 kilometers southeast of Minsk, and is the home of 140 children. When we found this orphanage, it was in a severe state of disrepair; however, the children were well cared for and the Belarusian staff were well supported by locals and eager to make a good life for the residents.
In 2001 we sent 70 volunteers to Kletsk -- architects, civil engineers, masons, plumbers, electricians and carpenters who donated their vacation time to make a better quality of life for these kids. With your financial support, they beautified and repaired the facility (no small task), and also added classrooms, toilets, and laundry facilities. On later trips, we built a community hall for the kids with a dance studio, kitchen skills shop for career training, music room, and sewing, craft and woodworking shops.
I met Pavel, the boy photographed above, when I took at second visit to Kletsk in April 2005. This was my first visit after the completion of the community hall, and I was captivated by Pavel's paintings. I asked to meet him. He's shy, but we were able to meet in the community hall. I asked to buy his painting, which he is holding in the photo above. He refused, as he was hoping to enter it in a local competition.
Artworks by other residents of the Kletsk orphanage are pictured here. It is clear that these kids see Chernobyl radiation as a major issue in their lives. Note the radioactive symbol in the artwork. In one of the paintings, radioactive mushrooms are prominent. Mushrooms suck up radiation very efficiently, and yet they are a national and well loved food. Giving up mushrooms in certain regions is a great sacrifice and requires extra education and reminders that this popular and traditional food is off-limits.
I also noted that these young artists were inspired by World War II. Twenty five percent of Belarusians died in this war (2 million people), and major cities including the capital were left in ruins. There is clearly national pride in Belarus regarding this war, and Belarus suffered-- with mass executions of Jewish and other populations, and the burning of many villages. If you ever go to Belarus, be sure to visit the museum memorializing this war. http://www.hotels-minsk.com/guide/museums-wwii.htm You really should not miss it. Every village in Belarus has a memorial to their war dead. These are massive, soviet style monuments, and it hard not to be moved and impressed by their scale and passion.
