What We Do

Vesnovo Children’s Mental Asylum

Project Background

Vesnovo Children's Mental Asylum is situated in an extremely remote area of South Eastern Belarus. The nearest town ‘Glutsk’ is 14 kms away. Vesnovo is a large institution that caters for approx 156 mainly abandoned children and young adults ranging in age from 5 – 25 with a wide range of intellectual and physical disabilities. There are eight ‘units’ or different sections in this Orphanage in all, one the ‘high dependency unit’ is home to about 30 children who are bedridden and highly dependent on labour intensive physical care. Until recently the children were living in substandard, unhygienic conditions where they were not receiving the proper level of care or stimulation.

Due to a shortage of nursing staff who were willing to work in desperate conditions in a rural area these children were living a quality of life that can only be described as lacking in the basic human dignity that is the right of any child.

Upon discovering the conditions at Vesnovo CCPI initiated a strategic long-term plan incorporating the renovation and refurbishment of each unit to a high standard and the investment in the farm attached to the orphanage to enable reliable and sustainable production. CCPI’s first task was employing extra nurses to help with this situation. Their initial role was assessing some of the basic needs of the high dependency children. 

To date, CCPI has built up a Nursing Programme in the insititution and is about to complete the final phases of building and refurbishment work to the units and all other access areas, corridors, stairwells, classrooms and offices.

Today, the children in Vesnovo can see vast improvements to their communal living spaces, their bedrooms, relaxation areas and sanitation facilities so that the quality of life is much higher for these children. CCPI continues to work with Belarussian Health professionals and the Director of Vesnovo to continue to work with the neediest of children who live here.