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“Chernobyl Children” is a presidential program being conducted in Belarus. It is aimed at reduction of dangerous effects of the Chernobyl catastrophe and improvement of living standards of the children living at the polluted territories. Chernobyl is a national tragedy for Belarus. About 60% of all radioactive dust fell on the Belarusian territory. The catastrophe had had a telling impact on about two millions of Belarusians, whose life has been for always divided into two parts: before and after Chernobyl. Some 400,000 children are among them.
All these children’s lives have been impacted by Chernobyl. They and their children suffer both physically and psychologically. They all need comfort and support that only God can give, and we believe that through His Word the Lord will work in children’s hearts. Much more literature is required to meet the need for Christian books for such centers and reach children with the life-giving Word. |
Children proved to be the most vulnerable category. Many children got thyroid gland cancer in the result of drinking milk from the cows that grazed upon the polluted pasture-lands. Metabolism of children is more active than that of adults, and therefore they receive 3 to 5 times as much of exposure dose as compared with adults. There are several children’s rehabilitation centers for such children in Belarus, and the center in Zshdanovichi is one of them. It is situated several km off Minsk in the picturesque surroundings.
The center (photo, left) was established in 1995 and each year some 5,000 kids come here for improving their health. Each shift holds about 400 children and lasts 24 days. The Bible Society has been granted a wonderful opportunity to render spiritual aid to the kids, and we decided to prepare the big set of the books and provide it for the library of the center with intent to periodical replenishment in the future.
At the library we met the kids choosing books. The librarian Irina Mikhailovna (photo, right) got excited about the Bibles we brought.
She told us that there was just one copy of the Children’s Bible at the library, and this book has been heavily used and worn-out consequently (photo). Surprisingly, it happened to be one of the Bibles the Bible Society had donated for this center five years ago.
We were glad to learn that our books are in demand and don’t gather dust at the shelves. The girls at once ordered the books (photo, right) in order to read at their rooms.
Diana, 7 (photo, left), came from Lubcha village, Grodno region. It is worth mentioning that there are areas at Grodno region (which is the north-west of Belarus) that have been contaminated by radiation. Diana is a first-form pupil, and the Christian ABC not only will help her learn to read, but also acquaint her with God’s commandments.
Nastya (photo, right) is seven, too. She is a friend of Diana, and they are classmates. They both came from the Belarusian-speaking countryside. The great majority of Belarusians speak Russian in daily life, and it was quite unusual to see the kids speaking Belarusian naturally. Thanks to the Children’s Bibles in Belarusian the girls will have an opportunity to read the Word of God in the native language.
The patients of the center range in age from 7 to 17. At the street I met Sasha (photo, right). He is 11. Sasha came two weeks ago from the village of Dwarets. When he knew about the Bibles having been brought to the library, he got interested and wanted to read them.