Visit to Belarus, April 2003 • Page 1

Woodwork class at School No 5

Sewing class at School No 5

The chief purpose of this visit was to make plans for the Respite Care Centre which we will be setting up in Gomel later this year.
During the first week I was accompanied by Lyn Shea, Head Teacher of The Milestone School (a large Special School in Gloucester); Russell Kirby, Manager of Manchester Disabled Children’s Team; and Jan Cooey, the chief nurse with the Disabled Children’s Team. Their experience and expertise proved invaluable throughout the week, and will I hope be of great benefit to us in the future.
We arrived in Minsk very late after a flight from Gatwick via Frankfurt, and travelled straight to Gomel. The next morning, after breakfast in the Sozh Hotel, the first visit was to School No 5. This is an excellent special school for children with mild to moderate learning difficulties, and the group were very impressed by the high level of practical skills the older children were attaining in woodwork and sewing. This provides some income for the school and gives the children the chance of a reasonable job when they leave. During the next few months we plan to put disabled access into part of the school, so that children with wheelchairs or other severe mobility problems, will be able to attend the school. The staff are keen to do this but nervous about working with children with physical disabilities. It was decided that in early July Aleg, the Director should come to the UK and spend a day or two in Lyn’s school, plus time in Lancasterian School in Manchester and a visit to a Barrier Free school. This should boost his confidence in working with children in wheelchairs.

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