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Rotary makes the wheels go round in Belarus

Rotary makes the wheels go round in Belarus

The Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown raised £22,000 to put the wheels in motion for a new school minibus for children in the village of Ozarichi, in the Kalinkovichi District of Belarus. The money was raised with the aid of a matching grant, which the Rotary club successfully acquired from Rotary District 1100 and America. Working […]

The Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown raised £22,000 to put the wheels in motion for a new school minibus for children in the village of Ozarichi, in the Kalinkovichi District of Belarus. The money was raised with the aid of a matching grant, which the Rotary club successfully acquired from Rotary District 1100 and America.
 
Working with a Rotary club in Belarus and also the Swindon branch of the Chernobyl Children in Need Charity, the bus was purchased to shuttle children to and from their lessons. It is also used for school trips to music festivals, additional educational classes and is in constant use throughout the week.

The bus also provides a lifeline for children in outlying hamlets to attend a Kindergarten school in the Village. The bus is also used to transport food parcels paid for by the Chernobyl Children In Need Charity, to needy families in the Village and surrounding area.
 
The School in Ozarichi is close to the Chernobyl exclusion zone and children from the area suffer from poor health owing to contamination of the soil following the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred 26 years ago. Over 70% of the highly polluted cloud landed in the south of Belarus and 21% of the land is now contaminated and will remain so for hundreds of years. As a result of eating food grown on the contaminated land, many of the children now have very low immune systems, thyroid, cancer and heart problems.
 
Three members of the Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown; Bob Barrett, Steve Davison and Richard Goddard along with Adrian and Theresa Walker from the Chernobyl Children In Need Charity were invited over to Belarus, by the Kalinkovichi District Head of Education to officially handover the keys of the minibus to the School.
 
The Rotarians said that it was a enormous privilege to meet the children, their parents and the teachers, the people of Ozarichi are all very grateful to the people of Swindon who supported the Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown at the many fund raising events which enabled this mini bus to be purchased.

Photo courtesy of the Bracknell Forest Standard

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