Palina Yanachkina grew up near Chernobyl and after the nuclear disaster had exceptionally high levels of radiation in her body. Her future looked bleak - until a holiday to Ireland changed everything.

Over 100 volunteer builders, carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, general assistants and medical staff and nurses return home after spending several weeks in Vesnova and Soltanovka. Thanks to Fergal Flavin and his team, some of the final phases of work at Vesnova Childrens Mental Asylum were completed, including the upstairs corridors, medical rooms, classrooms and stairwells in the main building. A local electrical company was on site and connected new fuse boards and rewired the entire building. While volunteers were in Vesnova, a funeral ceremony was held for little Viktor who sadly passed away earlier in the year. Viktor in his short life brought a lot of joy to many visitors to Vesnova and touched the hearts of many more. May he rest in peace. In Soltanovka Adult Mental Asylum, a team of Irish and Belarusian workers replaced all of the windows between April and May. In May, a building team of 19 volunteers travelled to Soltanovka to renovate showers and toilets and completed renovations on 7 rooms in all. The roof will be refelted in summer.

Toothfairy Ball The Toothfairy Ball which took place this year at the Mansion House in Dublin was a resounding success, thanks to the organising committee, which includes Ali Hewson and Caroline Downey. The Toothfairy Foundation has been a generous supporter of the work of CCPI and has provided critical funding for the Cardiac Surgery Programme, Hospice & Community Care Programmes and Homes of Hope Projects. For more information on the work of the Foundation visit www.toothfairyball.com

Volunteers in April worked non-stop to start and finish five new terraced houses on the grounds of Vesnova. One of the homes is for the Two Sashas, two young boys who now have a home of their own under CCPIs Home of Hope Project! The two boys who appeared in the Oscar-winning Documentary 'Chernobyl Heart' are now 18 years old and were about to be transferred from Vesnova into two separate Adult Mental Institutions when CCPI intervened and sought out the permission of the director of Vesnova to build new two-bedroom units on the grounds of Vesnova to give older teenagers like the Two Sashas a home of their own and keep them together. There wasnt a dry eye to be had at the Official opening of the Sashas Home on the day before we left to return home to Ireland! Click here for more updates on this story The Kilkenny Outreach Group sponsored a Home of Hope in Kopyl which was officially opened at the end of April. Committee members and volunteers from Kilkenny and further afield were there in person to see at first-hand the joy on the faces of the ten Mamsitchik children, who at last have a home of their own. We are planning the official launch of other 'Homes of Hope' in the Autumn. Thank you to all CCPI Volunteer Outreach Groups for fundraising for this project. If you are a company or a Volunteer Group and you would like to know more about supporting or sponsoring a Home of Hope , please email us at info@chernobyl-ireland.com

In April, the Irish medical team undertook physiotherapy, massage and sensory development training for medical staff working with children in the high-dependency unit in Vesnova. CCPI has employed 7 new care workers to work in Vesnova since last November to improve quality of care for the children who live there. The Medical team have also begun rolling out activitation programmes for each child, which include individually-tailored activity plans. In August, a dental team will visit Vesnova and Soltanovka to undertake assessments. CCPI is continuing to expand the Community Care and Hospice Programmes and has increased the number of therapeutic staff to address the growing list of children and families who are being assisted under these programmes. All families in the Gomel Hospice Care Programme are currently receiving 'Aid Direct' deliveries. New suction machines have been recently purchased to improve the quality of life of two new children under Hospice care. CCPI is also delighted to announce that a new anaesthetic machine has been bought for Gomel Regional Children's Hospital and is due to be delivered and installed during the summer. Sadly, Yula Barsukova, who was cared for under CCPI's Gomel Hospice Programme passed away. Yula was due to have a bone marrow transplant but due to continous infection was unable to undergo the procedure. Maggie and Michael Seoighe from Inis Mor on the Aran Islands also received the very sad news that Sasha Karawi, who was very close to their hearts passed away after a fatal accident. We offer Maggie and Micheal our deepest sympathies.