The Chernobyl disaster devastated the economy of Belarus, costing billions of dollars in cleanup and lost productivity while leaving its inhabitants displaced, without arable land and ravaged with radiation sickness and disease. The children have been affected most profoundly: more than one in four children under the age of 17 lives below the poverty level, and many have poor access to the medical treatment they desperately need.
Through Aid Direct, one of CCI’s newest programmes, we deliver humanitarian and medical aid through an innovative new model that gives the aid recipients themselves a chance to decide how it should be spent in their community.
By putting funds directly into the hands of the people who need it most, we are moving away from an older donor-versus-recipient model and embracing a partnership with the people of Belarus, Northern Ukraine and Western Russia. We now ask people what they want, rather than giving them what we think they need.
The Aid Direct Programme offers many advantages: it is cost effective, improves the supply chain, and ensures that the community receives what it most needs to see the greatest benefit. On a monthly basis, we deliver exactly what is needed, with less waste and error. The money saved then goes to those who are most deserving. Wherever possible, we source and purchase food and essential items in-country, contributing hugely to the local economy and generating income and employment.
Through the change in our philosophy of giving, we can ensure that our efforts foster a greater sense of dignity, autonomy and pride among aid recipients, empowering them to take a more active role in the rehabilitation of their homeland.
To date, we have delivered €85 million in direct and indirect medical and humanitarian aid to these areas, and helped restore a sense of hope and progress to the dying communities surrounding the site of the Chernobyl explosion.