Our work with Chernobyl children in Chernihev, Ukraine

Our Continuing Work With the "Revival" Centre of Rehabilitation
in Chernihev, Ukraine

Updated March 20, 2011

We have been working with and are a part of the "Revival" Centre in Chernihev, Ukraine since April 1996-- before it opened in June of that year. We have traveled there many times and have become dear friends of Dr. Vasyl Pasichnyk and his wife Natalya who are founders and directors of a children's rehabilitation center 30 miles due east of Chernobyl. It has treated thousands of children for various ailments and serious health conditions for the past 15 years. The causes of many disabilities that have been passed onto another generation now, go back to the fateful day on April 26, 1986 when fateful nuclear accident took place. It awakened and sobered our world to the dangers of nuclear power. LifeNets continues to help the center on an annual basis.

We appreciate Dr. P's updates and would like to share the following along with his photos.

December 22, 2010 and March 9, 2011

Our dear friends Victor and Beverly,

The year 2010 has ended. We are pleased, even though we are in a financial crisis, that we were able to care for and rehabilitate as many children at the same level as the last few years—altogether 1320 children. This was divided in the governmental supported part which included 730 children and 520 in the “Revival” part. Your $15,000 contribution for 2010 paid for rehabilitation of 70 children.

However, the Center of Rehabilitation cannot care for all the children in province who need rehabilitation. Of the 3,700 disabled children in our province, 2000 need rehabilitation. To solve this problem, the governor promised to allocate money for the construction of a new wing that would accommodate 60 children staying overnight with their mothers who would come from various parts of the province. We are confident that construction will start in the spring of 2011. Our facilities have become popular in Ukraine; that’s why we have children come from the Kiev province as well as other parts of the country.

We often have visitors and delegations as our guests. We had the Minister of Labor and Social Matters of Ukraine, Vasyl Nedraga, a delegation of the General Assembly of disabled in Ukraine, a delegation of pedagogues from Holland that help with education in our province. A very interesting visit was with our children of a Special Olympic soccer team from Italy…these were blind football players that played with balls that had bells on them. They had to figure out the location of the ball by the sounds. Photos included.

Once or twice a month we have special occasions with our children in the Music Hall where they dance and sing. They all receive presents that are given by charitable organizations from England. I’m sending a few photos of the last visit.

With respect and love,

Vasyl and Natalya