BESHANKOVICHI PROJECT:

 

Having carried out an assessment of each of the orphanages in Belarus outside of the immediate fallout zone north of Chernobyl, we established that Beshankovichi Orphanage in the north of the country was the worst by far. (We exclude the immediate fall-out region because we are not convinced that orphanages should be located there.)
	Beshankovichi is an orphanage in the Vitibsk region of northern Belarus, which is home to 164 children with special needs, aged between three and 18. When we visited it in May 2003 for the first time, the toilets were barely in working order, there were no showers of any sort and all that the children owned were the clothes they were standing up in. This was borne out by the fact that they had no lockers or wardrobes in their dorm in which to store anything. Many of the beds were in appalling condition, there were no medicines in the clinic associated with the orphanage and no play facilities of any kind. Over the summer of 2003 an Italian charity installed showers and some toilets.
We, CODP, have taken on everything else. We have replaced all off the beds and renovated the dorms. In fact the furniture throughout the orphanage has been largely replaced. We put in a new playground, new laundry equipment and a new industrial freezer. Although we tend to concentrate on sustainable projects, in Beshankovichi we had no option but to replace almost everything. So we have given all of the children new shoes, new clothes, and restocked the medical clinic, which we also redecorated.
	The biggest project however was the farm project. In 2003 Beshakovichi had no farm, unless you count an acre of land used to grow vegetables. We gave the orphanage a new tractor and 9 pieces of heavy farm machinery including a new plough, potato harvester, a rotavator and seed planter.
We also sourced 60 acres of prime agricultural land close to the orphanage and provided the best seed available for their first crop. We also paid for all chemicals and fertilizer for the first year.
	Although Natasha, the director of Besankovichi was initially nervous of taking on the farm she is now its most enthusiastic supporter, having seen the results of the first harvest. The children picked 80 tonne of potatoes in September 2004, not to mention cabbages, carrots and beet. As well as providing the orphanage with food, the farm is now a valuable source of income. But the main benefits of the farm are not the food or the cash it generates. The main benefits are that it teaches orphans how to work and also teaches them how to farm.
The next priority at Beshankovichi is a new roof. The existing flat roof leaks in dozens of places and is causing damage to the rest of the building. In fact local authorities have closed down part of the building for fear the concrete roof in that part may collapse. Estimates for the cost of erecting a new apex roof vary but are we hope to build it for less than E100,000.
	Once the roof has been replaced we can work on the remaining structural work.
Aside from these structural projects our future emphasis at Beshankovichi will be on providing assistance specifically for children with special needs. We are currently seeking expert advise from specialist in Ireland and in Belarus on the best way of furthering this aim.

Email: tmcenaney@independent.ie