Chernobly life line

[mark.t]

Well over the next 4 weeks we have the pleasure of another little person from Belarus...(the Chernobyl Children's Life line) a little girl 8 years old Katya no picture before hand this time so will be a complete surprise about 130 are flying in to Gatwick at lunch time so should be picking her up at about 20.30 always a nervous time at first till they settle in got all the usual 3 ton of fruit and veg ... and alot of chocolate ... although we are told they are not here for such frippery... anyway dentist tomorrow for her we try to get it over with as soon as possible and let them get on with gaining weight and having fun ...


da sveedanya

 

[Brian WH]

Well over the next 4 weeks we have the pleasure of another little person from Belarus...(the Chernobyl Children's Life line) a little girl 8 years old Katya no picture before hand this time so will be a complete surprise about 130 are flying in to Gatwick at lunch time so should be picking her up at about 20.30 always a nervous time at first till they settle in got all the usual 3 ton of fruit and veg ... and alot of chocolate ... although we are told they are not here for such frippery... anyway dentist tomorrow for her we try to get it over with as soon as possible and let them get on with gaining weight and having fun ...


da sveedanya

Good for you mate. Do you have children she can play with?

 

[pammy]

Have a great time with her Mark. I'm sure she'll enjoy her stay here.

Apart from the dentist - what other delights do you have planned? Is there anything we can help out with maybe - just a thought?

 

[mark.t]

life line

hi she will share a room with her own bed with my daughter who is five they prefer another in the room it helps if they get a little worried at night and once again thanks brian for the translation site you recommended last year ...pammy its a full 4 weeks itinerary with trips to visit local mayor's and church groups day trips and a week long trip to wales and they do a sponsored walk to raise money for the life line with a few mini holidays with us for good measure. its great how people pull together and thank you for the offer....

 

[mark.t]

Katya

Well we picked her up last night.....she is absolutely beautiful she is the smallest in the group and she is definitely here for recuperation she looks after here 4 year sister Dasha, takes her to kindergarten every day while mum works in a factory...her wage is about £5 per week so not much to live on ..she went to the dentist today and has to go back tomorrow for a coating on her teeth to help protect them..we are seeing a GP friend of ours tomorrow at her surgery she may need a lot of help to put it in perspective my daughter who was 5 years two days ago and is 3 foot 2 in tips the scales at 3 Stone 3 lbs....katya who is 8 years and 4 foot tall is 3 stone 2 lbs..all the children who visit benefit as the Doctors say puts another 18 months on their life ...fresh air well uncontaminated air and food for the month really will help the immune system as most of them have moved from villages that are in or near the dead zone...anyway we have had about 10 smiles today so at least we are on the up...hope its ok to post these snippets as i find it helps a little after a busy day thanks.

 

[pammy]

Mark - it's great to hear how Katya's progressing. Hope she didn't find the dentist too daunting.

 

[marcos]

Good on you Mark.

It's so nice to see some people do actually still care and are willing to put themselves out for others.
Hope she enjoys her stay.

 

[joe]

Great Post Mark!
I was looking at the web site, its a really good organisation.
I do quite a bit of work in the Regional Children's Hospital in St Petersburg Russia, and we get a lot of Chernobyl Children travelling all that distance for Treatment.
They are a forgotten Generation.

Well done........If you need any help with Russian do not hesitate to ask.
But a smile is International Language

 

[mark.t]

katya

Well today could have gone either way, she had a second dental appointment for the coating which is painless, a far cry from Belarus where anaesthetic is way out of reach of the people,so you can imagine. The trip to our friend the doctor proved she had a chest infection and that she is malnourished ... and at 3 stone 2 lbs is 1 stone under weight so with her advice and 5 pack of strawberry complan + the antibiotic under our arms off we went to toys R us and got her some things to do and a dolly for her sister which cheered her up . She is eating a little better now and we did a little baking today which she enjoys she is still too ill to travel far and needs to gain strength before we can give her a proper holiday but the little things we take for granted mean so much to them, its a case of you don't have to try very hard but i would say a 50% improvment from the little girl with the lifeless eyes we met on sunday.

 

[pammy]

aaaw - that's brilliant news.

 

[mark.t]

Katya

yesterday we saw further improvement in Katya, the complan with milk is going down half in the morning and half in the evening, breakfast time is improving as well slices of orange and apple with banana, we are increasing the portion size all be it by 3 or 4 thin slices, and her daily intake is riseing to above a 1000 cals and other meal time are improving,she is walking around the house now and seams more interested in her dollies and the toys we have for her..the sweet tooth is beginning to show and chocolate fingers are a hit...she seams to be able to concentrate on playing a little...we asked her through the teacher that accompanies them on the trip what toys at home she plays with and she replied "a barby doll but no arms on it" .and that was it no others. her food at home consisted of cabbage and potatoes. we have more background on her from Belarus via her teacher in school and the charity and it all fits on how she became so thin and poorly. she has a loving family it is just very sad circumstances...with illness and lack of work so no money coming in......she was sent hear just in time to recuperate as she looks after her little sister and her dad he was 10 years old when the power station melted down and he has cancer, her mum has work but between november and march the plant shuts down so no work with a steady wage

 

[mark.t]

good progress

Well its been a week since she arrived and the words leap and bound spring to mind what a different little girl we have staying with us, the child in her is coming out at last,and her laughter is the best medicine, she likes card games like snap and pairs.. along with playing the toy piano with a little song here and there...she really likes sharing her sweets with my daughter..this is because giving is seldom done and is a new experience for them as they usually have nothing to give...the best news is that she's finished her antibiotic and her infection has gone ...and she has gained 3 lbs in weight and is a hefty 3st...5lbs.... still on the shy side for a 8 1/2 year old ,she still gets tired very easily and we have to encourage her with some food ,she is a pleasure to have stay with us ,and as always the children make it very easy , she is a credit to her family back home in Belarus

 

[racall]

Time the club picked up on this one

Its time the club picked up on helping on this little girl or the many others like her.How can we help her or the chairity ? I would like to sponser you on the charity Walk if you would post the detials.
We spend £0000's on our cars' so a few pounds to this won.t go amis

 

[Pietre]

How about if we arrange a collection for Katya at the Bruntingthorpe meeting?

 

[Flyer]

How about if we arrange a collection for Katya at the Bruntingthorpe meeting?

Sounds good to me (hopefully I can make it).

Mark, hope you keep your updates coming. Absolutely tremendous thing you're doing there ...

 

[mark.t]

Katya

Thanks for your offers of help. It’s not the reason I posted the thread but it’s great to know people have taken such an interest. Any donation is always welcome by the charity and you can send it via myself pm me for my address

If you would like to collect at Bruntingthorpe and would like the money to go directly to Katya and her family then could I suggest a donation of £1 per car. The reason for this is that although we financially help to support the families of the children who have stayed with us about twice a year birthdays and christmas mainley.. the charity limits us to sending £20-£30 home when the children return. (this equates to a monthly wage for a teacher or doctor so you can imagine what a cleaner earns but with this money they will make it go a long way…).This is because the children are easy targets when going through customs or when they get home. Like anywhere there are unscrupulous characters always willing to take advantage. As I’m unable to make the day, if somebody would like to be the ‘collector’ then send me the cheque that would be great. We can then change this into dollars for her as this is a better rate of exchange for her family. If not, that’s fine aswell, it’s been great just receiving the feedback from you all.

Bye the way Katya had her spends today and bought a red nose from my daughters school she would like to help others interpreted through her teacher

If you want to make the cheque out to me from the bruntingthorpe meet I will change it in to dollers and send it back with her …or if you would like it to go to the charity please make it out to the chernobyl children lifeline and that will go direct to the main charity….

 

[mercmanuk]

little katya

Ive just seen little katya as mark.t lives facing me,she is such a jolly little girl and little being the right word.she is smilling all the time and seems so happy when you consider the hardship she endures at home.when you think of the standard of living these families have living on cabbage soup all the time and the illnesses they have due to their poor lifestyle its a wonder they smile at all.british children moan if they cant have the latest p.c or the new playstation game at £40,or those trainers at £100,makes you think.£100 is 6 months wages for the family.all the hapiness katya is having is down to mark and his wife,they are doing a grand job,but the sad thing is what she will go back to when she now knows what we have all the time.
we spend £10 on polish for our cars ,society is very sad at times.
lets do that collection that has been mentioned and send it to poor katya.
and dont forget the banana for mark and his wife :bannana: :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:

 

[mark.t]

update

We’re now coming to the end of the 2nd week with Katya and she’s really picking up speed. Her appetite is much better and she’s really into the fresh fruit and vegetables strawberries especially, although she’s still very pale and prone to getting tired quickly.

She’s had a few day trips out with the group she came over with and has been to the Lowry Centre, a local school, and a TA day out at Holcombe Brooke assault course which wasn’t really her cup of tea. She’d much rather be singing, dancing and playing the toy piano in the house. She’s not keen on the day trips and would prefer to stay at home with my wife where it’s warm and there are strawberries on tap. To an extent the organiser agrees with this as she’s been excused from a couple of outdoor activities. She still feels the cold but is moving around much more. The house is that warm it’s like being in a permanent sauna and I think I’ve lost about 3 stone…. When the children arrive at Gatwick they have no baggage to claim just a small piece of hand luggage which would make for a speedy exit.alass no, the call of nature takes them to the toilets where they find the automatic taps and hand dryers absolutely hysterical and after about 10 trips of just washing their hands and drying them they are finally hurried on to a double Decker bus supplied by First Manchester …and the driver who has given up his Sunday off, to set off back to Manchester, on the first night it’s a tense after picking them up as they are removed from the group…and alone with strangers we quickly try to make them feel at home …but this can still take a few days..in the bags they carry are gifts for the host parents family’s back home have gone without to supply these gifts to they are very special indeed…although when they open the bag you never quite know what your about to be given…pictures and chocolate are the norm with some hand made cotton table lays.
One host parent who has been doing this for years had a little boy from a village staying with her and he proudly produced a 2 day old fox skin and explained through the teacher that his father went out hunting rabbit and returned with the fox and decided it wood make a special gift she had to have it lay on the fireplace for a month as not to offend.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Well over the next 4 weeks we have the pleasure of another little person from Belarus...(the Chernobyl Children's Life line)

On ITV at 21:30 "The Girls Who Came to Stay" by any chance or an amazing coincidence?

Will be watching closely for some MBClub plugs if so!

 

[dougal74]

The ITV show was originally called "The Girls from Chernobyl" but the title was changed to make it less dramatic, someone thought the original one would put people off watching.

It was in production for 8 months and was commissioned last summer. Good performance from Alun Armstrong I thought.

I admire those who take the time to help people in situations like these.