Today we started the projects to bring water to two more needy families.  On our way to the first we passed this park.

It is a comfortable place to have picnics and BBQ’s and go for a walk in the woods, however it comes with a warning that the area is contaminated with radiation and you should not pick or eat the berries or mushrooms. A grim reminder of the reality of living in a region contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster 32 years ago. Continue reading →

Today we got started with our initiative to bring running water to needy families.  Our first family is in the small village of Vileyka about 5 kilometres from Chausy.  This family lives in a tiny home with 3 rooms and includes a Mother, Father, 3 children and a Grandmother. Today the well was drilled and the casing put in. Margaret Campbell, from Chatham, ON, is sponsoring this project and raised the funds to bring water to 3 families.  Here is Margaret with the mother, father, and 3 children in front of the new well head.

Since the area has very sandy soil and no rock like our home region, the driller is able to use a very small drilling rig on a trailer.  Continue reading →

While waiting for the release of our shipment from Customs bond we went for a drive to visit the children of the Chausy Orphanage. They are currently staying at a “sanatorium”  a little less than an hour from Chausy.  When we arrived, the children, who were outside, spotted us and came running to greet us. They were very excited that the Canadians had arrived and we received many hugs, handshakes and high fives.

All children living in the Chernobyl contaminated regions are sent outside of the region for relief from the radiation for 18 days every year. Their teachers accompany them and they Continue reading →