2020 Initiatives

It’s a new year and a new decade. We have some exciting new initiatives for 2020. Life is still very difficult for our friends in Belarus and we hope that one of the following of our plans and dreams for the upcoming year grabs your attention. If it does, we would love your help, just click on the “Donate Now” button on the right side of the webpage to donate through CanadaHelps or the PayPal donate button to use PayPal. In either case, you will get a Canadian tax receipt.

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

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

Running Water

Most families living in homes in the Chausy region do not have running water or indoor plumbing. Over the last three years, Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has helped 13 families improve their lives by connecting them to a water supply.  The impact is immediate and lasting. We are targeting 4 more deserving families to receive this life-changing gift in 2019.


$2,000 USD Raised

$2,000 USD Needed

Containers

CAC currently has enough humanitarian aid to fill 2 transport containers for this spring, provided the funds are raised. 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, shoes boxes for seniors, gift boxes for orphans, handmade quilts, clothing and footwear.

$16,000 needed   (Overseas and inland shipping)

Food Boxes

Canadian Aid for Chernobyl has launched our 18th annual food box drive; providing 50lbs 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 600 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 provide food to 648 families!

$30,000 needed

Chausy Orphanage Hockey/Skating Rink

The Malcomson family of Kanata give so much including hockey equipment and a hockey school for the children of the Chausy Orphanage. This year they are building a beautiful outdoor rink right on the orphanage property! Not only will it help the children in their hockey training and skating, but it will be a hub for the entire community, bringing everyone together in fun and recreation.

$84,000 USD – Malcomson Family Commitment

Chausy Hospital Pediatric Diagnostic Ward

On a more personal project, after the passing of Susan Shaw last year, in memoriam donations came in at $32,000. Dave Shaw, and his daughter Riley, have decided to use the funds for renovations and new equipment at the Chausy hospital’s pediatric diagnostic ward. A plaque will remember Susan, one of CAC’s founding directors.  This project will be completed in partnership with the Chausy Authorities. 

We are so thankful to all who donated in Susan’s honour, this will be a beautiful memorial to Susan.

$32,000 USD raised through in memoriam donations

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.

CAC Foster Home for Children

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

CAC, in partnership with the Chausy Administration, is in the process of establishing a foster home in the Town of Chausy.  Local authorities have committed to providing the home and all operational expenses. CAC has committed to furnishing the home for up to 15 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 by this opportunity!

$25,000 USD needed

Orphan Initiatives:

Chausy Orphanage – Child Rescue Program

Currently there are 96 children living at the Chausy Orphanage.  Of those, 26 are orphans and the others have been rescued from difficult situations by CAC thanks to generous donations through our auction gala.  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.

 $10,000 needed

Music Program

CAC has been developing and supporting the Music Program in the Orphanage for more than 14 years. In the Spring of 2013, we expanded this program to introduce acoustic guitars, electric guitars, electric bass guitars, drum sets, tambourines, song books etc. In addition we took several instructors with us and it was a tremendous success.  

This program continues to be popular with the children at the orphanage.

$700 USD 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, 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!

In previous years this project has been funded by Margaret Campbell in memory of her late husband, David.

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 

Chausy Orphanage – Yearbook

The goal 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. The last 8 years school yearbooks were a huge success. The students, school director and staff remain keen to continue producing keepsake yearbooks. Students from Belarus and Canada are working hard together as a team to produce the 2018/2019 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. 

$600 USD needed

Birthday Party for Orphans

After the tremendous success of our past four birthday parties for our orphan and rescue children, we are pleased to have the fundraising underway to host this fun and exciting birthday bash again!  Corbin Evans, a grade 9 student from Thousand Islands Secondary School, is in the process of raising the funds needed for this years party and Corbin will once again be in Chausy to help host the event.

$2,000 – Corbin Evans working hard to raise

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” was completed in 2009 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. Until now, the graduating kids leave the orphanage with no family skills, no understanding of money management, no experience at food preparation or how to live in a healthy family environment.
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. They are having a blast!!  Special thanks to the Malcomson Family.

General household maintenance and upgrades.

$2,000 USD needed 

 Initiatives for the Physically, Mentally and Medically Challenged 

Guardian Angel Program

The Guardian Angel Program is an ongoing program that deals with children/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 136 families registered in this program 

$6,000 USD needed

Invalid Children Support

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 quality of life.
There are 136 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

Social Workshop for Invalid Children and Young Adults

In 2014 CAC announced the grand opening of the areas first Social Workshop for children and young adults with physical and mental challenges. This is a wonderful opportunity to support our vision to integrate children with challenges into society. Our kids are busy making crafts, carving wood, sewing as well as selling their creations at local markets and fairs. CAC is responsible for the classroom expenses, heat and electricity. The city authorities are responsible for providing the psychologist.  

$1,500 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.

$1,350 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.  Over 700 boxes have been lovingly packed with essential items; toothbrushes, paste, soap, hand creams, small towels etc. These boxes are hand delivered by Social Service and are overwhelmingly accepted.  Spearheaded by Mary Bernard.

710 Shoeboxes Packed – 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 these beautiful quilts … lots of excited and happy children.  What a wonderful gift for a child! 

Spearheaded by Mary Bernard.

School Initiative

School #1 in Chausy has provided a wish-list to upgrade and modernize their wood-working shop. This will benefit many children, teaching them skills they can carry forward throughout their lives.

Jeff Earle & family have committed to raise the funds for this initiative