History 2

Sadly, red tape and the greed of the Italian Ferry operators made these convoys impractical after 2000, so our present efforts are directed towards families and homes in Ukraine where there is another battlefield, not of guns and shelling but a battlefield all the same. The battle is against inertia and inactivity on the part of those throughout the world who should be helping the ‘forgotten children of Chernobyl.’

Tony first went to Chernigov, in Ukraine, in 1996 in response to a letter from a one of the hospitals. A Doctor had explained that, in the aftermath of Chernobyl, they had 2500 mothers and children dying of cancer and that approaches to other charities had not born fruit.

He was shattered, on arriving, to find that the translator had dropped a zero and the true figure was 25,000 and that State Aid for homeless, sick and unemployed was non-existent.

After considering the problems, Tony set out to create “a centre” that would be capable of providing support for families in need. During one visit the official translator was unavailable and a local English teacher, Victoria Filatova, was enlisted to help.

She is a remarkable lady and a few ttrips later agreed to become the director of Tony’s proposed centre, Aratta (An ancient name for Ukraine). The first home for Aratta was in the basement of a windswept and cheerless block of flats.

120 families were given assistance and encouraged to pool resources and provide mutual support to create a warm and vibrant escape from theharsh realities of life in Chernigov.

Late in 2002, now supporting 1600 families and the centre for our other projects which include adopting and supplying 4 homes for orphaned or handicapped children, they moved to larger premises provided by the Education Committee.

As soon as these were refurbished committee re-possessed a part of the buildings and this, together with poor accessibility, has led us to set out to buy our own property. A disused supermarket was available, in a good location, for $20,000, and is now our main store and distribution centre.