2022 Initiatives

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has had many successful projects and initiatives during 2021. Life remains very difficult for our friends in Belarus, and we hope that one of the following initiatives for the upcoming year grabs your attention. If it does, we would love your help. 

Donations can be made using any one of the following methods:

  1. Donations can be dropped off at Alan Brown’s Clothing in Downtown Brockville
  2. E-transfers to “treasurer4canadianaidchernobyl@gmail.com
  3. Mailed to: 
    • Canadian Aid for Chernobyl
    • PO Box 244
    • Brockville, ON K6V 5V5
  4. Online at the following link

In all cases, you will get a Canadian tax receipt.

Thank you all for your past support and we look forward to providing updates as the year progresses.

Dave Shaw – Director of Humanitarian Aid and Orphan Initiatives
and Eric McKenzie – President

Containers

Due to COVID, our fundraising has been extremely challenging, however, we still hope to raise enough to send two transport containers of humanitarian aid for this spring, providing the funds are raised. The container will consist of food and parcels for a targeted 700 families including seniors on small pensions, impoverished families and families with children with physical and mental challenges. In addition, we hope to raise enough funds for hygiene products for impoverished families, orphans, abused / neglected children, children and adults with physical and mental challenges. Also, shoe boxes for seniors, gift boxes for orphans, handmade quilts, clothing and footwear.

$18,000 needed   (Overseas and inland shipping)

Food Boxes

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has launched our 20th annual food box drive; providing 50lbs of staple food products to seniors on minimal pensions, single mothers or families on social assistance, and families with children with disabilities. Last year, we hand-delivered 648 food boxes.

These boxes are genuinely appreciated and will be hand-delivered by our self-funded volunteers in April when families’ preserves are depleted.

We have committed to providing food to 696 families as the need is greater!

$28,500 needed

Family Boxes

In addition to the food boxes, CAC will hand-deliver more than 300 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.

Orphan and Child Rescue Initiatives:

Child Rescue Program

Currently, there are 100 children living at the Chausy Orphanage.  Of those, 26 are orphans, and the other children have been either invited or rescued from difficult situations by CAC thanks to generous donations from our supporters.  This is the first “foreign” agreement for sponsorship of children living in an orphanage in the history of Belarus!

Funds are still required for food, clothing, footwear and hygiene products for the children.

 $14,000 needed

Post-Secondary Education

In 2003, CAC established a post-secondary education program that provides support for graduates of the Chausy Orphanage and as well as from impoverished families. Through the generosity of individuals and groups, Canadian Aid for Chernobyl allows these graduates to continue their education at the vulnerable age of 16 -25. This school term, we have 25 students enrolled. We are pleased to have provided support to over 169 students!

 $30,000 urgently needed

Chausy Orphanage – Agricultural Program

For decades the Chausy Orphanage operated with critical food shortages 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, equipment and seeds needed to harvest sufficient potatoes and various vegetables for the entire year. In fact, for the last six harvests, they have yielded a surplus and the children took their produce to market.
In 2010, 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 2011. What a success! The hens are yielding 90 eggs a day, and we need to purchase the 7th round of 50 broilers!

Funds needed to support our agricultural program: providing feed for the layers and broilers, Purchase broiler chicks, crop fertilizer, fuel and machinery maintenance.

$5,000 needed 

Birthday/Graduation Party for Rescue Children

After the tremendous success over the past five years for our orphan and rescue children, we are pleased to have the fundraising underway to host this fun and exciting event again!  Corbin Evans, a student from Thousand Islands Secondary School, continues to raise the funds needed for this annual party.

$2,000 raised

Running Water

Many families living in homes in the rural areas of the Chausy region do not have running water or indoor plumbing. Over the last five years, Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has helped 19 families improve their lives by connecting them to a water supply.  The impact is immediate and lasting. We are targeting 5 more deserving families to receive this life-changing gift in 2022.

$2,500 needed per well

CAC Second Foster Home for Children

In March 2021, CAC’s first foster home was officially opened in the town of Chausy, currently housing 8 children. Special thanks to the Ridgetown, ON community!

Many children continue to live in dangerous family or foster family situations, and living in an institutional orphanage environment is not an option.

CAC, in partnership with the Chausy Administration, is in the process of establishing a second foster home in the Village of Putski.  CAC has committed to extensive renovations and furnishing the home for up to 8 foster children.  The children would have the advantage of living in a loving family environment while attending regular public school and would have access to extracurricular activities.  CAC is very excited about this new second opportunity! 

$12,500 needed

Initiatives for the Physically, Mentally, and Medically Challenged 

Guardian Angel Program

The Guardian Angel Program is an ongoing program that deals with children and young adults in the Chausy Region of Belarus who have been labelled “Invalid” because of some physical/emotional/intellectual challenge.  This label has often had them treated as undesirables.  

Our main objective is to ease their situation in any way: helping caregivers by making their days in any way easier and they themselves feel more significant/valued/cared for, can often give some hope and sense of significance.  Clothing, food, transportation, ambulatory devices (wheelchairs, etc.) are just some of the things and services we try to provide for those who struggle.

At this time we have 135 families registered in this program 

$5,500 needed

Support for Children with Disabilities

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has once again partnered with the Rotary Club of Brockville and Rotary Club of 1000 Islands and families with disabled children: providing a medical fund of $5,000 to be used for medicines, medical supplies, surgery or improvement to the quality of life.
There are 135 families with physically, mentally, or medically challenged children currently registered! Thank you Rotarians for making a tremendous difference in the lives of these children!

$5,000 Brockville Rotary Clubs sponsored!

Van Required for this Program

CAC provided a van to be used to transport children to medical appointments as well as to and from activities. This van is long overdue for replacement and has become unsafe. Brockville’s Rotary Clubs have committed $5,000 to this initiative and we have a private donation of $15,000. An additional $10,000 is needed to purchase a safe and reliable vehicle. 

$10,000 needed

Storage area

CAC has agreed to continue our financial support to the Organization of Invalid Children to allow them to operate their distribution of humanitarian aid from a small storage room. CAC pays the rent, electrical and minimal heat.

$1,400 needed

Shoeboxes For Seniors

Many seniors living in the affected regions of rural Belarus are destitute and lacking in basic hygiene items.

The Shoeboxes for Seniors committee has been in full swing packing and receiving products, since early spring, for our delivery in April.  These boxes have been lovingly packed with essential items; toothbrushes, paste, soap, hand creams, small towels etc.  These boxes are hand-delivered to seniors by our team in Belarus and are overwhelmingly accepted.  Spearheaded by Mary Bernard.

Completed

Quilts for Chernobyl

Once again, our quilters have been hard at work creating beautiful handmade quilts for our orphans and impoverished children. This April, we will once again have the pleasure of presenting more of these beautiful quilts … lots of excited and happy children.  What a wonderful gift for a child! 

Spearheaded by Mary Bernard.