Living with Chernobyl • A happy holiday in Belarus • 2005 summer holiday
20th anniversary campaign • Chernobyl aftermath • Foster care training • In memory of Brian Boothman
Mayflower Centre • Supporting families

TWENTY-FIVE volunteers from Britain took part in the holiday this year which took place at a new Sanatorium or Holiday Camp.  In the past we have taken the children from Zhuravichi Boarding Home and Rechitsa Boarding School right across the country to a camp near Grodno. This Summer they had a much less exhausting journey to a camp in a clean area in the west of Gomel Region.

This year we invited all the orphans from Rechitsa as well as a group of 60 from Zhuravichi, making a total of almost 120 disabled children. They came with 30 carers, and some of their children. As always, they had an unforgettable holiday of games and discos, arts and crafts, sand play and sports.

For many of the volunteers too, it was a very special experience. On his return to Britain Adam (seen here with Alexei) wrote: I really enjoyed my two weeks in Belarus... it ranks as one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in my life so far. Thank you millions for the opportunity to go... and if you'd ever like me to volunteer again , then I'd love to!

The Belarusian government funds the costs for the children’s holiday and for their carers. We pay for the volunteers stay, provide all the travel for the children and contribute to the costs of the young adults we invite. It is a very cost effective way to give a wonderful experience to disabled children who don’t get the chance to go abroad. We are very grateful to Driffield FoCC who covered all these costs this year We hope to take even more volunteers next year, and hope other charities will think about doing something similar for children from another orphanage.