Clonmel people's generosity provides new hope for Chernobyl children
The generosity of the people of Clonmel has saved three sisters and their little brother from being separated and placed in different orphanages and foster homes in Belarus.
A fundraising campaign spearheaded by the Chernobyl Children's Project in the town has purchased a home for the Yerashok children, who last summer faced the heartbreaking prospect of their family being torn apart after their parents placed them in the care of the State.
The house, called Cluain Meala, is one of the "Home of Hopes" the Cork based charity is opening in Belarus to give vulnerable children a better life than that provided in the state's poorly resourced orphanages. The children are cared for by live-in foster parents paid by the Belarus government.
A total of j40,000 was raised in Clonmel to purchase and refurbish the house and transform it into a foster home, which the four Yerashok siblings share with five other children.
The Yerashok family has a strong connection with Clonmel. Children from the troubled and impoverished family have holidayed with Anne and Johnny Casey from Knocklofty for the past 14 years.
The three youngest sisters Liuda, aged 16, Natasha, aged 14 and Zena, aged 9, have spent the past month with the Caseys.
They are among the group of 35 Belarussian children, who stayed with families in the Clonmel area as part of the
Chernobyl Children's Project annual holiday scheme for children from the area devastated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The group returned to Belarus this week.
Anne Casey said the lives of the three Yerashok sisters and their three year-old brother Victor, who is as yet too young to accompany them on their Irish holidays, have been transformed since their moved into their new home in February.
She has noticed a huge difference in the sisters since their last visit at Christmas. They are happier and more settled, better fed and cared for, she said. She reported that the health of their brother Victor has also improved greatly. "He was very sickly but since he moved into the house he is a different child. It's amazing what a bit of care and attention can do."
Anne said it was a huge relief to know the Yerashok siblings are together and living in a safe and caring environment.
"When they returned from their holiday last summer the family had fallen into complete chaos. The parents signed over their parental rights. They would have been separated because the orphanages are for different ages.
"It's a relief to us that they are safe. I could see last year they were headed for disaster. The idea of them going into orphanages was awful. This has made a huge difference totheir lives definitely."
The girls three older siblings, who are now adults, all stayed with the Caseys during their childhood and teenage years and the family recalls worrying about them returning to their chaotic family situation after their annual holiday in Clonmel.
Carol Morrissey, outreach leader of the Clonmel branch of Chernobyl Children's Project, has paid tribute to the people of Clonmel for the huge generosity they showed in supporting their fundraising campaign for the Cluain Meala Home of Hope located in Zhitkovichi.
"The generosity of the town's people has been absolutely fantastic,"she said.
The main fundraising drive in the campaign was an appeal for donations of bags of cents and euro coins lying in jars in homes around Clonmel.
Carol said €6,000 raised in 2005 by Transition Year and Leaving Cert Applied students in Clonmel second level schools was used as a deposit for the house. The money raised at that time was put aside by the Chernobyl Children's Project for a specific project in the future and Cluain Meala Home of Hope was the worthy cause chosen.
The keys to the house were presented to the Yerashok sisters at Christmas at a ceremony in St Mary's Church. The presentation was made by the church's choir representing the people of the town. The choir had donted €1000 towards the campaign.
A further €6,000 still needs to be raised for the project as the house cost the Chernobyl Children's Project €50,000.
Carol Morrissey said the charity still welcomed donations of bags of cents and euros.
And she revealed that the Chernobyl Children's Project hopes to bring all the children living in the Cluain Meala Home of Hope to Clonmel for a holiday next year.
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Weather for Clonmel
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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