Recently, Tony (FOCC Medway Coordinator) and his wife, Linda, travelled out to Belarus to visit FOCC Medway’s children from this years visit and begin the enormous job of visiting and identifying new children to come to the UK. They went with suitcases and bags filled with supplies such as coffee, toothpaste, toothbrushes, seeds, paracetamol, gloves, hats, scarves, clothes and soft toys for the families and the orphanage that they visited.
We were very lucky to be able to get a peek into their visit with the aid of Facebook and we followed it avidly. The families that they visited have such a different life and living experience to what many of us are used to in the UK. Many had large families living in just two rooms, some no heating in the -4oC snowy conditions, no running water in the houses, some sharing a kitchen and a bathroom with other families, and in some cases this was all made worse by a lack of food and warm clothing.
Whilst it was obviously an extremely emotional and difficult experience for Tony and Linda, their visit means that they have identified not only the new children coming to Medway next year, but also other children who will be picked up by other FOCC charities in the UK. What an amazing thing to do!
Friends of Chernobyl's Children – Medway 