Appeals

Become a child sponsor today

Monday, 22nd February 2010

Many of our children on CCPI's Hospice & Community Programme are in need of individual support and sponsorship. By becoming a child sponsor and donating €25.00 a month you will help to considerably improve the quality of life for one child affected by the ongoing devastating affects of the Chernobyl disaster.

Please sponsor a child today and make a lasting difference to any one of these children. To set up your sponsorship please call 021 4312999 or set up a direct debit by clicking here.

CCPI's Community Care Programme developed when CCPI identified needy families in Belarus who were unable to look after their children at home. CCPI supports families with physically impaired children and delivers therapeutic and personal services in their homes. Through the direct intervention of CCPI, we are are breaking the cycle of abandonment, preventing institutionalisation and taking children off waiting lists for institutions.

Valentin Chernyakevich, Community Care Project Co-ordinator, assesses many of these children who suffer mainly from cerebral palsy. He and his team provide physiotherapy and massage to these children two to three times a week thus preventing or reducing scoliosis and improving muscle tone and increasing or normalising blood circulation. The children are also taken to the swimming pool twice per week for therapeutic work.

As part of this development programme, CCPI also upskills and trains local therapeutic professionals to design support plans for each family and complete a needs assessment for each child. Daily and weekly therapeutic and nursing vitis, monitoring and social supports make it possible for these high-risk families to stay together as a unit.

Tatania Romanenko

Tatania is in urgent need of sponsorship to help provide the specialist treatment she desperately needs. Tatiana, 28, suffers from Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita which is a very rare chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease. Tatiana was just 4 years old when she first exhibited symptoms, this was in 1986 the year of the Chernobyl Nuclear accident. As there is no family history of the disease doctors believe her condition is a direct result of the nuclear disaster.

The degenerative disease causes chronic inflammation and scar formation around her joints which severely hinder her daily activities. The scarring nature of the disease leads to nail destruction and hair loss and also causes gum disease and gradual closing of the esophagus which leads to difficulties when swallowing. It can also affect the eyes causing blindness. Without treatment, these symptoms will continue to worsen.

A Doctor in Germany has kindly offered his expertise to Tatiana free of charge but due to the high travel costs she is unable to travel. CCPI are looking for sponsorship to cover these high travel expenses. After each course of treatment, Tatiana will feel immense relief from the symptoms and reduction of pain associated with the scarring and blisters. Tatiana needs treatment every six months but as the costs are so high she would be delighted to get it even once a year. She also needs ointments and bandages on an ongoing basis.

If you can help or to find out more information please call 021-4312999 or e-mail: mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com

Sasha Tatarincev

Sasha lives with his mother (also called Sasha) in a cramped tiny one room apartment in the Chernobyl zone of Gomel. Both mother and son appeared in the award-winning documentary ‘Children Beyond Chernobyl’ (RTE 2008).

Sasha, who had a tonsillectomy (carried out without anaesthetic) when he was just one year old, caused him severe body trauma and tragically he developed an infection after this routine procedure. As a result, he has severe brain damage and convulsive syndrome. His mother Sasha is confined to a wheelchair due to a tumour on her spine. She is her son’s sole care-giver and receives very little support.

After the documentary was broadcast in 2008, Sasha’s mother made a heart-felt plea for help and support to allow her to stay at home and care for her son – at all costs she wanted to live at home with her son so that he would not be sent to an institution – this is Sasha’s mother’s only wish.

CCPI want to provide mother and son with a more comfortable living environment. The family is awaiting planning permission to make their tiny appartment more wheelchair friendly and widen the doors and balcony areas. We also want to buy a new suction machine and provide a dedicated part-time nurse, nappies, incontinent sheets, food, vitamins and other essential medication - we need your help to do this. Please help Sasha today.

Call +353 21 431 2999 or email mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com today for further information.

Polina Bryndikova

Polina is almost twelve years old and in her young life has already had complicated surgery on her spine. Polina’s condition has sadly deteriorated since May 2009, when she tried so hard to walk with the aid of crutches, then with a walking frame. Her situation got worse and now, sadly Polina is confined to a wheelchair.

Polina is one of twins and everyday her sister asks ‘when will Polina be better’. To care for Polina and her sister her mother works long hours as a carer in Vesnova Children’s Mental Asylum to make ends meet.

Polina needs an urgent operation on her spine and is still waiting for surgery, which we hope she will receive soon. Steel rods will be placed in between her vertebrae in her spine. This is a costly and complicated operation which Polina desperately needs. You can help Polina and her family by sponsoring her operation. This family urgently needs your help. Please sponsor Polina today.

Call +353 21 431 2999 or email mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com today for further information.

Diana Poyonelova

Diana Poyonelova, is a little girl who is on Chernobyl Children’s Project International Hospice Programme in Gomel in Belarus. Diana lives with her mother and grandmother in very cramped conditions. She suffers from Cerebral Palsy and severe episodes of Epilepsy.

Due to the number of seizures Diana has on a daily basis, local doctors recommended a new medication that is not available in Belarus. Unfortunately Diana’s mother and grandmother cannot afford to buy the medication for Diana and are looking for a sponsor to financially support the cost of medication for their little girl.

Part-time nurses continue to offer help and support to families with physically impaired children and children who are terminally-ill in this region. But we want to do more. Please help Diana’s family today to provide her with critical medication and vastly improve her quality of life.

Call +353 21 431 2999 or email mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com today for further information.

Lena Luskovich

Lena should be like any other 13 year old teenager - she is a very bright intelligent child, but sadly Lena was born with multiple birth defects. She suffers from congenital heart disease and has a growing thyroid problem.

Lena also finds she is unsteady on her feet and finds it hard to walk upright because her hips are unstable. In her short life, she has also had her right kidney removed and suffers from ongoing inflammation of the eyelids.

We want to make life better for Lena – we want to provide her with proper physiotherapeutic care - at least once a week to improve her movement. We want to improve her chances of living into adulthood by giving her the thyroid medication she needs. Lena's mother gave birth to a baby boy in 2009, but her little brother needs constant monitoring in case he develops any of Lena's symptoms and condition.

In wintertime, Lena needs good bedding, orthapaedic shoes and warm winter clothing so that she will be warm and comfortable throughout the long cold days. Please help give the gift of life back to Lena and help her recovery today.

Call +353 21 431 2999 or email mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com today for further information.

Nastya Ermolenko

Nastya is a little 5 year old girl who has severe brain damage with associated respiratory problems. CCPI purchased a suction machine which allowed Nastya’s parents to suction the build-up of fluid off Nastya's lungs which was the cause of her recurrent pneumonia.

The family are now urgently looking for support to buy anti-convulsive medication that has been recommended by Irish doctors due to the number of seizures Nastya sufferers from on a daily basis. This medication cannot be purchased in Belarus.

We also need your help to continue to support Nastya by providing a part-time nurse and also buy the most basic, but essential items for this little girl. These essential items include nappies, incontinent sheets, baby food, essential vitamins, clothing, bedding – all items which the family cannot afford.

Please help Nastya today.

Call +353 21 431 2999 or email mforde@chernobyl-ireland.com today for further information.