Belarussian Children of Chernobyl Program at Fairfax Presbyterian Church

CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL still suffer the after-effects of the nuclear accident that devastated their environment; the resulting contamination is expected to last 100 years. While the Children of Chernobyl program in Northern Virginia continues, this year FPC hosted only one child.

The Mission Outreach Ministry will be forming a committee to re-energize the program at FPC. Please sign up to join this committee when it is formed (see the sheet on the kiosk), or call Doris Naeher for more information.

Can you imagine what it would be like having your children or grandchildren grow up in the areas of the former Soviet Union still badly contaminated by the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident? Can you imagine how you would long for them to live in a different environment even for a few weeks? While our effors are humanitarian in nature, they are embeded in Christian love because Christ first loved us. Experience has shown that a several-weeks respite in a radiation-free setting, with a diet rich in fruits and vetables, strengthens each child's immune system. Our first motive is not evangelism, but our children are not likely to forget the fact tha Christian families and a Christian church reached out to them in love.

Summer 2002

Once again Fairfax Presbyterian Church is sponsoring 8 children from Belarus on a six-week visit to Fairfax this summer, as part of the global Children of Chernobyl Program. The children will live with church member host families, receive dental cleaning and work, visit area museums and parks, relax, receive clothes, toys, medicines and gifts for their families at home, and, most of all, be loved and share their love.

Our eight children will arrive at FPC on June 23 for their six weeks with us. The loving efforts of many assure our readiness, not the least of whom are our host families who are prepared to give love and nurture every day. That's mission - up close and personal!

"The children stood there, silent and shy. I noticed fresh fingernail polish on their nails and smiled, remembering tucking a bottle of nail polish into each welcoming package. I reached for one small hand and held it in mine. "Pretty," I said with a big smile. I know she didn't understand my English, but she understood my admiring look. She smiled happily. Then another small hand crept voluntarily into mine. "Yours is so pretty, too," I said with another smile. Then all the little girls put out their hands showing off newly painted nails, reaching across barriers of language, culture, and age. I know they know they are welcome here."

The Mission

The Mission Outreach Ministry is again ready to organize FPC's effort to bring this International Mission Project into our midst. Our 4-Year track record of enthusiastic and wide-spread support suggests another good summer.

To date we have funded this projcet with love gifts over and above the budget.

Alla Suvorara, who has served us well as a chaperone/interpreter for the past three years, returns again this year.

Our budget obligations include the following:

• Air fare, visa, and insurance fees, plus bus fare from New York for each of our children and for their chaperone (Host families pay these fees for returning children.)
• A stipend of $300 to the Interpreter/Chaperone
• Children's activity fees where necessary
• Purchase of a large wheeled duffel bag for each child to take home

Children of Chernobyl Events

How wonderful it is to see God's Hands at work! The Sewing Group did an outstanding job of welcoming the girls (We happen to be hosting 6 girls this year, but the program is open to boys too!) with summer clothes. It doesn't get much above 60° in their village, so this summer heat in Washington DC must be really something for them. While the girls are here, the Sewing Group is busy putting together care packages for the girls to take back with them - more appropriate clothing for their climate.

The girls and Alla spent a day at Splashdown Waterpark in Manassas. Thank you to Sue McKenzie and her daughter and Linda Carlton and her daughter and friend for coordinating the day. The weather was great for a day in the water!

The girls were welcomed at Music Camp led by Susan Onderdonk. We all recognize that music is the universal language, and the girls had a great time joining in on the instruments.

Thanks to the local chapter of the Children of Chernobyl organization, a group event to attend a Mystics basketball game at the MCI Center was organized - complete with Box Suite seats! It was as much of a treat for the chaperones as it was for the girls. Thank you to Brad Ward, Nancy Brinton, the Cooks, and Denny and Linda Carlton for attending as chaperones/drivers. We ventured on Metro and attended a pre-game reception sponsored by a downtown Law Office involved in the program. Alla and the girls had a opportunity to meet Belarus Embassy representatives and tell them about their visit.

Chernobyl Team

If you have questions or ideas, please call Jim and Meg Lyons through the church office at (703) 273-5300 or speak with someone on the Children of Chernobyl Team

History of the Children of Chernobyl Program

The program was created in 1989 to provide assistance to children in the contaminated areas from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. In 1993, Annandale United Methodist Church and Christ Church (Episcopal) of Alexandria began summer programs of hosting and supporting Belarussian children for 6 week visits to Northern Virginia. Other area churches have joined in this effort of improving the health of and giving love and hope to these children. This is Fairfax Presbyterian's third year in the project and we are deeply indebted to Christ Church and Annandale United Methodist for their guidance.

The program involves host families from the church opening their homes to one or two children for 6 weeks. The church community provides transportation to and from Belarus, entertainment, sightseeing, clothes, and gifts for the children and their families of medicine, hygiene products, and memorabilia. Area doctors, dentists, and health professionals generously donate medical examinations and dental care.

The Belarussian children suffer from weakened immune systems, making them especially vulnerable to common diseases. The medical community has found that a 6-week stay in an uncontaminated area, with fresh food and clean air and water, washes the radioactive salts from their bodies, reduces the risk of radiation-induced illnesses, and strengthens their immune systems for the future.

The children are generally from rural areas and are between 8 and 12 years old. The only risk in hosting these youngsters is previous hosts have reported falling in love with their Belarussian visitors and wanting to adopt them or have them return next year. Over 100 children have visited in the last three years and approximately 70 children are being hosted this summer, 3 at FPC.

Please call Meg and Jim Lyons through the church office at (703) 273-5300.

The Chernobyl Explosion and Aftermath

On April 26, 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. Official Soviet sources acknowledged 50,000,000 Curies were released in the accident. In 1994, Alexander Sich, a nuclear engineer presented at 500-page doctoral dissertation estimating that between 185 and 250 million Curies were released during the ten days that the reactor burned. Dr. Sich's estimates are now accepted by most experts as accurate. A Curie is the amount of radiation contained in one gram of radium.

Winds blew 70 percent of the radiation from the Ukrainian plant to neighboring Belarus. Of the 10,000,000 Belarussians, one in five suffered contamination. Of these contaminated, one in three was a child. A fifth of the arable land in Belarus was lost, but many have moved back to their former farms in spite of the contamination. The Soviets permanently evacuated 116,000 individuals within a 40-mile zone around Chernobyl.

The blast released huge amounts of Iodine 131 and Cesium 137 into the atmosphere. These radioactive isotopes enter the food chain through plants and animals, so the Belarussians are not the only victims of the initial blast but are continuing to suffer. It is in this manner that most victims have received their doses of radioactivity. The thyroid gland soaks up iodine like a sponge. Because the body cannot differentiate between radioactive isotopes and normal iodine, the Iodine 137 was absorbed into the system through the lining of the small intestine. This is the cause of acute hypothyroidism.

According to the World Health Organization, thyroid cancers in Belarus have increased more than 100 times since before the Chernobyl disaster. Increases in leukemia have not been detected (1995) probably because it takes so long to develop.

Written by
Lee MacDonald
Christ Church
Alexandria, Virginia

Belarussian Children of Chernobyl Benefactors

The children's airfares and visits are paid for entirely by the Fairfax Presbyterian Church family. Local dentists very generously donate dental care of cleaning, filling and extracting teeth. Additionally, we are very thankful to our translators for their help in communicating with the children. To all, we are grateful beyond words.

Dentists
Dr. Kenneth Giberson
Dr. Andrew Lewis

Interpreter
Alla Suvorova, Chaperon

Chernobyl Children - Why?

"People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them." - Mark 10:13-16

Preached by Ida Mae Speeks
April 26, 1998
Deut. 10:12-13, 17-19 and Mark 10:13-16

Why are we reaching halfway around the world to a country called Belarus, part of the former Soviet Union, to bring children into our community for six weeks this summer? Why?

We have heard the call of our Lord, "Let the little children come unto me. It is to such as these the kingdom of God belongs." It is important to note the context in which Jesus gave this call. Mark tells us that crowds were gathered around Jesus and, as was his custom, he taught them. Soon the disciples noticed that people were bringing little children to Jesus so that he might touch them. As Mark says, the disciples spoke sternly to them. Can you hear them? "Don't you know Jesus has far more important things to do?" Imagine their surprise when Jesus is indignant. "Let the little children come to me." Implicit here in Jesus' tone is something like "Don't you understand that the children are at the heart of my mission?"

We do a good job of honoring and nurturing our own children. With every baptism, we pledge as a family of faith to surround each child with Christ's love, to nurture each in the Christian faith.

But what about all the other children? Surely there are children beyond our own whom we can reach. Today's emphasis calls us to reach out to children in our larger community, especially to inner-city children -- to fund scholarships to send needy children to our own Camp Glenkirk and even to reach around the world to Belarussian children. WOW!

Why are we doing this?

Surely there are children at risk all over the world. Why Belarussian children? One, their need is great. Two, it's possible! The infrastructure is in place. Three, the potential good we can do is enormous.

In my lifetime, Belarus has suffered three catastrophes almost too enormous for us to imagine. First were the Nazi atrocities as they wiped out village after village, including the people. As if that were not bad enough, along came an evil Soviet insider, Stalin, whose purges wiped out untold numbers of people. Surely that's enough! Is this a Job story on an international level? No, there's yet another disaster.

Twelve years ago today, April 26, 1986, there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Chernobyl, as you may know, is located in the Ukraine about 10 miles south of the Belarussian border. The explosion propelled millions of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Wind currents carried the plume northward where 70 percent of the invisible toxins rained down on unsuspecting Belarussians covering five of six regions. Today, over 2 million people, including around 600,000 children, still live in those contaminated areas. Birthrates have decreased by 25 percent and the overall health impact has been vast and it may continue to be for generations.

A few years ago, a few charitable groups in Belarus set out to save the children. They have continued to expand their network around the world to find groups who would host their country's children for a few weeks during the summer. Their goal? To give the children's immune system a respite, and to allow the children to benefit from good water, healthy food, fresh air, individual attention, and, of course, love. Six years ago, Annandale United Methodist Church responded to that call. As their own program has grown, it has spawned other programs in the area. In fact, our six children this summer are coming with a large group that Christ Church of Alexandria will bring in.

Why? The need is clear. The opportunity is here. And what else? Some of us know -- well maybe we all know -- that Fairfax Presbyterian Church has an enormous heart for mission. If we trust each other and that heart for mission, there's no doubt that we will raise needed funds and carry out all the other necessary tasks to host our six children.

What would Jesus say today? I suspect he would still be saying "Let the little children come unto me." He might go further and say, "Your hands are my hands today. You reach out and touch those children in my name. You can change their lives for the better. You may even affect the future of Belarus, that battered country, far from your own."

"Go ye into all the world" -- in my name. Amen.