Enjoy the video!

Eric McKenzie

The reason Canadian Aid for Chernobyl exists today is because it was started by families hosting children from the radioactive environment created after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.  These conditions still exist today and these children need the respite as much today as they did in 1986.  Over the past few years we have seen our programs numbers get smaller and smaller and we are now at a point where we must rejuvenate the program or see it disappear altogether.

This past year has seen the Belarussian economy hit hard like many other countries.  The Belarussian Ruble is now at approximately one third the value it has been for the past several years.  This means that effectively the people of Belarus are making approximately one third of what they were last spring and it is increasingly difficult to find many staples in the stores and prices on these items have increased exponentially.

With the economic crisis came a time of belt tightening which led to the decision to send children from orphanages home to the difficult and often abusive environments from which they had been removed.  For many orphanages it meant closure and consolidation.  The Chausy orphanage was once again targeted for closure, but due to the development of programs by Canadian Aid for Chernobyl that made this one of the best orphanages in the Republic, the Chausy orphanage was spared.  However, of the approximately 100 children in the orphanage, 19 graduated, 41 were sent home to difficult situations and only 40 are true orphans who would remain.  Within one week the orphanage director had received 3 calls for help from children sent home.  CAC worked with the Orphanage Director and the Ministries of Health and Education to develop a sponsorship program where we would pay the costs to keep these at risk children in the orphanage to continue their education as well as live in the safe environment they have come to trust.  At this time we have raised the funds to sponsor 30 children and 28 are now back at the orphanage.  When the school year ends in May, these children will still be returned to their families, however if we bring them to Canada for our 5 week summer respite program they will be allowed to stay at the orphanage to bridge the remaining few weeks of summer.

Working with the Orphanage Director and Staff Psychologist, 15 children have been selected to come to Canada and it is for these children that host families are needed.  If you are interested in hosting or know someone who might be, please click here for more information on hosting or click here to find the necessary application forms.  Rhona Dixon, our Children’s Program Chair, can be contacted at 613-342-2709 or by e-mail here.

Here is a picture of the children at the Chausy Orphanage before the changes were made:

Here are some more pictures of children from the Chausy Orphanage:

How can you resist?

Eric McKenzie

Eric McKenzie on behalf of

Dave Shaw – Director of Humanitarian Aid

Containers

CAC will limit our aid shipment to 3 transport containers of aid this spring. The containers will consist of food and parcels for a targeted 800 families including seniors on small pensions and impoverished families and families with disabled children. In addition, we hope to raise enough funds for hygiene products for impoverished families, orphans, abused / neglected children, disabled children and adults. Also 1200 shoes boxes for seniors, hand made quilts, some clothing and annual donations of hygiene products  and supplies for orphanages.

$20,700   (Overseas and inland shipping)

Food Boxes

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has launched our 11th annual food box drive; providing 60lbs of staple food products to seniors on minimal pensions, single mothers or families on social assistance, families with invalid children. Last year, we hand delivered 650 food boxes.
These boxes are genuinely appreciated and will be hand delivered in early April when families’ preservatives are depleted.
We hope to provide food to more than 650 families!

$32,500

Family Boxes

In addition to the food boxes, CAC delegates will deliver more than 400 humanitarian boxes from Canadian families to families living in the contaminated regions. In the past, families throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes have sent parcels through CAC for safe distribution.

Orphanage Initiatives:

Chausy Orphanage – Child Sponsorship

In June of 2011, the President of Belarus passed a decree that due to the economic crisis, all children living in orphanages throughout the Republic, that have parents or relatives, must return to their families regardless of the living conditions or abusive circumstances or neglect. This had an immediate impact on 50% of the children living in the Chausy Orphanage.
Canadian Aid for Chernobyl took immediate action to plea to the Government to pass a law that would allow children living in dangerous or abusive situations to be “sponsored” by Canadians to return to the safe environment of the Chausy Orphanage. This request was approved and made law in early August 2011!
This is the first “foreign” agreement for sponsorship of children living in an orphanage in the history of Belarus! We have identified and safely returned 21 children in September, 4 in October and 5 additional children will return in November. Canadian Aid for Chernobyl negotiated with several Ministries (Education, Health and Social Services) and agreed upon several terms and conditions. The cost per child is $1000 per school year. We need an additional 5 sponsorships at this time.
In addition, these children will remain living at the Orphanage until the end of the school year, at which time they will be returned to their families! Canadian Aid for Chernobyl is now trying to raise the funds to invite 15 of these deserving children to Canada next July for rest, recuperation, dental and medical attention and to experience life in a loving family environment. At the end of the summer program, the children would return to the Chausy Orphanage and providing we have the necessary funding in place, they would continue to live and be educated at the orphanage. There is absolutely NO administration costs attached to these sponsorships!

$5,000 needed

Chausy Orphanage – Agricultural Program

After years of operating the Chausy Orphanage with critical food shortage in late winter and early spring, In 2005, Canadian Aid for Chernobyl introduced the Agricultural Program. Through the support of our donors, we provided the machinery and equipment and seeds needed to harvest sufficient potatoes and various vegetables for the entire year. In fact, for the last two harvests they have yielded a surplus and the children took their produce to market.
This year, we appealed to our supporters to help us expand this program and we built a state of the art poultry barn and delivered it to the orphanage in April. We returned in June with poultry specialists and purchased 100 laying hens and 50 broilers. In September, the hens were yielding 90 eggs a day, and the orphanage was raising a  2nd  round of 50 broilers!
This year, CAC is just looking for funds in our agricultural program to provide feed for the layers and broilers.

$3,500

Chausy Orphanage – Student Projects
Internet / Yearbook / Videos

The goals of this initiative is to work with the students at the Chausy Orphanage School to improve their technical skills, celebrate the students’ successes and build their self-esteem. Last year’s school yearbook was a huge success. The students, school director and staff are now very keen on having a bigger and better yearbook this year. Students from Belarus and Canada are working hard together as a team to produce the new yearbook. CAC has introduced the children to the worldwide web and this initiative will maintain the Internet connection to the school and expand student use of email and the web. A new ‘Friends of the Chausy Orphanage School” web site will be created featuring life at an Orphanage and promoting and recognizing the achievements of individual kids and the orphanage itself. With continued technical support and training from CAC, students will continue to create short videos showing their stories and their lives at the orphanage.   CAC Director Stephen MacKinnon heads up this initiative, applying his award-winning expertise and experience in a new challenging environment.

$3,000 USD

Malcomson Home for Family Living

In September 2008, CAC initiated an agreement between the Department of Education, the Chausy Orphanage, the Department of Humanitarian Aid and CAC  to construct a house on the orphanage property. This “home” is now complete and provides the opportunity for orphaned and abused children to experience family life and develop skills in family structure and finance. They learn to purchase and prepare meals, care for a home, do their laundry and enjoy life as a family. The house sleeps 6 students and one supervisor. The kids will prepare a kitchen garden each spring for food supplement and to preserve for winter. It is also used as an incentive for kids to earn a weekend with their friends for good behavior, for excelling in their studies and /or for contributing to daily chores within the orphanage.
Until now, the graduating kids leave the orphanage with no family skills or any understanding of money management, or healthy family environment or even food preparation.
CAC has received numerous letters from the children who enjoy the house and are deeply motivated to strive for a better future and have enjoyed a positive taste for family living

$5,000 Needed for up keep and a family expense budget

Chausy Orphanage Wish list

Senior boys skates sizes 40 (8) to 45 (11)  core sizes 8.5 & 9
20 Right hand hockey sticks (new)
20 Left hand hockey sticks (new)
Hockey tape white, black and clear
Skate laces
Running/sport/cross country shoes
Sport mats
Soccer balls
Basketballs
Volleyballs
Drum Set
10 Mountain Bikes (stronger than last years)
Paper napkins
2 sets of men’s goalie pads (used)
5 Judo mats
6  5-6 man tents
10 sleeping bags
10 underlay mats
Camping equipment
Prices to be confirmed
To be purchased in Belarus
School supplies
Printer cartridges
Internet support
Educational Books
School uniforms
Medicines
Team Travel Jackets

$2,000 USD

Orphanage Books and Magazines

Over the last 7 years, CAC has partnered with a number of elementary schools in Leeds and Grenville, providing orphanages with several thousand new hard cover books for education and personal enjoyment. Once again, schools within the Upper Canada School Board will try to raise $3000 to purchase additional books and this year add magazines into the mix. Since this program was initiated, 3 of the orphanages have been recognized by the Provincial Department of Education as the top educational facilities within the province. Spearheaded by Neil Matheson

$3,000 Needed

Invalid Children

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has once again partnered with the Rotary Clubs of Brockville and families with disabled children: providing a medical fund of $5,000 to be used for medicines, medical supplies, surgery or improvement to quality of life.
There are 146 families with invalid children registered and all received food.

$5,000  Rotary

Mini Van – Invalid Children

In 2010, CAC partnered with Don and Shirley Green and successfully purchased a mini van for the organization of Invalid Children. This has now made it possible for many children living in the rural areas the opportunity to attend the daycare / learning care facility in Chausy. It has given the child/young adult the opportunity to do crafts, woodworking and most importantly an opportunity to socialize.

$5,000 operating budget needed

Guardian Angel Program

This year we are targeting children who are bed-ridden as well as those struggling with diabetes.  We need 12 specialized wheelchairs/strollers ($5,000) to allow these children mobility.  As well we need funds to purchase lancets, test strips and glucometers so Nikolai Basolbasov, Igor Nadbai, Irina Kadrova and Stanislav Subotkovski can better cope with their diabetes ($1,500).

We hope to partner with Eric Montgomery in a bicycles to Belarus initiative, reconditioning used bicycles to a “nearly new” state and bringing fifteen (15) bikes to children labeled Invalid. ($500)

$7,000

Daycare and Workshop for Invalid Children and Young Adults

CAC has agreed to support the 2 Invalid care/workshop facilities in Chausy. One is for toddlers to 17 years and the newest is 18 – 35 years. CAC will only support these facilities with supplies targeted to the interests of each student. NO office equipment or monetary donations will be given. It is our feeling that this remains the responsibility of the Chausy Administration.

$1,500

Office and storage area

CAC has agreed to continue our financial support to the Organization of Invalid Children to allow them to operate from an office and small storage room. CAC  pays for the rent, electrical and heat.

$2,000 US

Fire Equipment

CAC is pleased that our CAC firefighters have been working hard to acquire additional equipment to compliment what was sent in March 2010 to Mogilev and Chausy Fire departments.

Dream Mountain Crisis Center for Women and Children

Alcohol abuse has been a root of serious domestic violence and social problems in Eastern Europe for several decades. Canadian Aid for Chernobyl is in the process of constructing the Country’s first “Safe House” for women and children. We have successfully negotiated terms and conditions, responsibilities and commitments of each party involved with Municipal Authorities in the Chausy Region. Canadian Aid for Chernobyl is responsible for providing the funds necessary for the reconstruction of the building for our safe house and for providing the furnishings, clothing and food required. The Municipal Government is responsible for rent, taxes, staffing, all operational expenses and providing an on site family psychologist. Canadian Aid for Chernobyl, in partnership with the “Dream Mountains Foundation” is in the process of raising the $35,000 to reconstruct the building, however we do need donations for the furnishings etc. 100% of all donations are at 0% administration.

$15,000 is needed

So there you go!  We need your help to succeed with these great initiatives, so click on “Donate Now”, send us a cheque or e-mail us and ask how you can help out.

Thanks everyone for all of your support.

Eric McKenzie