We are almost at the end of our time here in Belarus.  Some of the delegates have already headed home and more are leaving everyday over the next few days.  We have a real push on to tidy up loose ends and complete any outstanding items.  Some of the items have only just been released from bond over the past two days so we need to get everything to where it is going.

A small group of us continue to work on the Poultry Barn and hope to finish up tomorrow.  Today we got the metal sheeting on one of the three rooms.  Although it was pre-cut, it was very difficult to install as it we had to put in all of the trim and then fit the pieces around all of the vents etc.  The room below is the completed room for the meat birds.

Another real joy for the Canadians is presenting the new children at the orphanage with their hand-made quilts.  Each one lovingly made for them by a very talented group of quilters in the Brockville area headed up by Mary Bernard.  Here is Dave in Brockville with several of the quilters the day they donated the quilts.

and here are some of the children showing off their new quilts.

Here are all of the new children with their quilts.  These are really treasured as it is something that is really theirs and they will get to keep it always!  Every child in this orphanage has a quilt and these children represent only the children who have arrived at the orphanage since last March … an astounding and disturbingly high number!

Dan and his team completed building the 15 mountain bikes today and they were extremely excited.  Of course they had to take a few outside and check them out!

Here are Vlad and Nikita posing with two of the new bikes.

This evening Dan & I went with Neil Matheson to visit the family that a group that I used to work with sponsor in the Guardian Angel Program.  This is an extraordinary family.  The daughter is extremely challenged mentally and physically and she is now 37 years old.  Lena was damaged during the birthing process in what is called a “forced birth”.   She was not feeling well this evening and went to lie down early in our visit, however her brother and his wife and daughter came to visit.  As usual they asked if we could stay for tea and of course we said only if it was “just tea”.  As soon as we agreed, the table came out and was covered with food, the tea itself became an afterthought.  Below, from left to right, you see Lena’s father Lonya, her niece Dasha, and her sister in law.  Then Neil, Lena’s Mother Valentina and Dan.  You can also see a small amount of the food that was put before us.

This visit is a real high point in the trip as the family is such a wonderful, loving family who make us feel right at home.  We ended up spending about two hours sitting around the table discussing everything from the type of food we eat in Canada to the cost differences of food between our countries.  As always, it was a great visit with great people!

Eric McKenzie