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Chernobyl Children Life Line - Teesside Link |
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Why?Comments from our Link members as to why they became involved in the charity and how they feel about hosting. "I would not be being totally honest if I said the only reason I hosted two Chernobyl victims was to help them. I also wanted my own children to benefit from the experience. They have so much - good health, home comforts, great education opportunities and toys galore. So do their friends. Sharing all this with children who have none of it was something they would never otherwise have had the chance to do. For children, language is no barrier: they found common ground and forged strong friendships that will never be forgotten. My own two developed a greater appreciation of the wider world and , I hope, became a little more grateful for what they have!." Debbie & Simon Calgie "How did we come to get involved with the CCLL Teesside Link when there were plenty of other charitable institutions that we could have supported? The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 brought home to us as I'm sure it did to everyone else, the very real consequences suffered when a nuclear reactor goes out of control. This tragic event was then compounded by the fact that the majority of the cloud born radiation descended upon Belarus, an adjacent small nation with few resources to meet such a calamity. As is often the case in events like this the children suffer probably most, not only from the effects of the various illnesses associated with nuclear radiation, but also from the psychological and financial impact on family life. A chance conversation during a business visit to a client in the South of England, made me aware of the CCLL and their activities. Following this conversation Maureen and I realised that we could also offer our home to these children, although we were a little unsure whether we would be acceptable because we had never been involved with anything like this before.We were made very welcome by the Link and our fears of acceptability were quashed. Our first opportunity of becoming more fully involved was to act as a support family. This involved being on standby, in the event that a host family through illness or other commitments, were unable to have the children for a period of their stay, then we would step in until the host family were able to resume their hosting. Our baptism of fire came soon enough and we eventually had a total of 8 children (quite unusual I am assured) at one time or another during the 4 weeks that they were here. Who enjoyed the experience more is difficult to say, but both Maureen and I regard it as one of the most fulfilling ‘tasks’ that we have had the pleasure to take part in. We now await the visit of our next children with anticipated excitement, but now as a committed host family". Neville & Maureen Mitchell "Michael and I knew nothing about the charity up until the beginning of last year when we went along to a meeting at the invitation of John and Margaret. What struck us most at that first meeting, was the enthusiasm and sheer hard work of the people involved in relation to bringing the children over to the UK. Although we had no intentions of hosting children when we went to that first meeting, we found ourselves being swept along (willingly) and before we knew it, we said "yes we'll have some please". Unlike other people, we were unable to host the children for four weeks due to work commitments. However, one family could only host them for three weeks and we were able to help them out by having the children for the final week of their stay. Our two boys arrived, Sasha and Sergei aged 9 and 8 respectively and it was love at first sight (for us anyway). They were just lovely. Well mannered, warm and friendly, funny, helpful, trusting and I'm pleased to say, full of normal boyhood mischief. They fitted in to our family life straight away and the only unhappy members of our household were our four cats who took fright at Sasha and Sergei running through the house with us chasing them - and vice versa. Although the boys did not speak any English and we had about three words of Russian between us, we had great fun trying to communicate. To see Sasha and Sergei laughing at our efforts and making it obvious we were pathetic was quite hilarious. On the other hand, their efforts at speaking English were equally amusing. The week flew past and the final trip to the airport to see them off was a lumpy throat affair, only curtailed by a frantic search of the luggage when we realised they were not allowed to take their plastic guns on the plane - "no madam, the fact they are from Belarus does not exempt them from the rules that everyone else has to abide by". To anyone who is thinking about hosting children, don't think too long - just do it. I can guarantee that you will get more out of the experience than they do. As I sit here typing this message, the warm glow of Sasha and Sergei's visit still remains with me and every time I look at their picture, a broad smile spreads across my face. That's why". Julie and Michael Glasspole "We first became aware of CCLL through an article in our local newspaper. The article mentioned what they were about and at the time asking for people to contact them if they could help in anyway. After contacting John and Margaret Cundall we started to attend the monthly meetings and six months later we hosted two 9 year old girls from Belarus. This was in July 2004. This year we will be hosting again, a further two girls. We decided to host as our own children have grown up and thought we would have the experience necessary! On reflection we think anyone with patience and energy could benefit these children by easily doing what we have done. We would recommend anyone considering this worthwhile cause to contact John & Margaret who will welcome you and give any information you require". Frank and Norma Andrew "When the link was first formed Bob and I thought we would be given two children to care for a month. It wasn't until the next meeting that we realised how much more was involved. At first we were all concerned about how to raise so much money for the air fares and trips out but, we made plans wrote letters asked many organisations to help. Tasks most of us had never had to do before and with much hard work particularly on Margaret and John behalf we did it. We met the group of children at the airport and it was so hard not to cry they looked so forlorn and bewildered. All the children settled in very quickly and as others have said language did not prove a problem in fact it adds to the fun. After a few days we could all see a vast difference in the group. The trips out were a great success in part because the children loved to be together as a group.So many things we take for granted are new to these children washing machines,cars, supermarkets and lovely hot water for the bath. One little girl sat watching the washer going round quite fascinated. What we as a host family found as an added bonus other than the obvious delight at seeing the children blossom was the social interaction with the other host families and various other people who provided visits and help.Our lives have changed so much and we are looking forward to our fourth lot of visitors in July 2005". Cynthia and Bob Mckeown
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Ken and Pauline Scott, Columbus, Ohio, USA"I was raised in Teesside and now live in the USA. We heard about CCLL through friends involved with the Teesside group. The children’s plight struck a cord immediately and we asked how we could help financially. Join the 100 Club we were told. Not only will you support the children but you will have a chance of a monthly prize. 100 people donate 12 pounds each and are given a number between 1 and 100. Half of this money goes directly to the Teesside CCLL fund. The other half goes into a pot for a monthly drawing for 12 months. Three prizes of 25, 15 and 10 per month. Your number remains in the drawing no matter how many times you win. We thought what a novel idea and joined immediately with the added stipulation that it would give us more pleasure to see any winnings go towards an outing for the children rather than ourselves. Well we did win and our friend's two young guests will enjoy a trip to Saltburn and ice-cream this summer. So if you think helping to lengthen a Belarus child's life by a stay in England is worthy of your support why don't you join the 100 club. Just ask for details." |
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