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About us The Chernobyl Children Lifeline Bolton Link was formed in the spring of 2000, and was previously known as, initially the The Bury Link, and later, The Unity Link. Since the summer of 2000 our link has hosted over 90 children from various towns and villages in Belarus including Ossipovichi, Tesnovaya and Rogachev in the Gomel region. In 2002 our link hosted two groups of children - one group arrived in February from the little village of Lapitchy (a village that is close to Victor's heart and which he has supported and helped them to build a village laundry), and the second group arrived in July from Tesnovaya. During 2002 four of the group members travelled to Tesnovaya village (which is a small village 45 km to the west of Minsk). We decided to go to see the children who had stayed with us in 2001 and also to develop stronger links with a place that we had heard so much about - but could not imagine. The visit confirmed our fears about the conditions in which the children lived, and yet was reassuring, in that their parents and teachers obviously cared for and loved them a great deal, and do as much as they can in often very difficult circumstances. It was a great experience travelling to Belarus and the welcome from the familes was very humbling and overwhelming. We invited 10 children from the same small village of Tesnovaya each summer for the following 2 years, and then decided to leave the choice of where the children came from to Victor, as he was more aware of where the greatest needs were. In 2007 we had 10 new children and 2 re-visits, all from the Gomel area in the South East of Belarus. Overall our 9 visits have always been a resounding success from the point of view of the children and their interpreter - and have always been very rewarding for all the host families. Although the group has seen many changes since it's early inception, it continues with it's work of inviting children over to stay. This year (2008) we have children over from the central southern areas and we are mid way through their visit. ......Sheila Kelly / Robert Morris Help? There are many ways people can help. Host Family A host family is a family who have 2 children from Belarus stay with them for a period of between 1 and 4 weeks. During that time the family, the family's own chidren, and the children they are hosting, will attend all the trips and activities that are run by the link. 2) Support Family. 3) Donations. 4) Play/Day Helper. 5) Service Provider. 6) Translations. 7) Fundraising (under contruction). |
