Crete for life

Crete For Life is a charitiy registered both in Greece and in Italy. Every summer we host a number of disadvantaged children to spend a one month recuperative holiday in our summer-camp located in south-east Crete. The first group arrived in June 2006 from Belarus, and we are planning to host them, and many more children, in the years to come, till their sixteenth birthday, because  their holiday is not intended to be a one-off treat, but a chance to restore in the long term, their health and spirits. At this stage of our project, we cater for children who are generally well, and free from chronic or contagious illnesses.

In Belarus, Crete For Life cooperates the Minsk-based registered charitable association "Independent Children Aid - Medicine and Chernobyl” which was started in 1993 and was among the first to be founded in Belarus after the Chernobyl Catastrophe. "Independent Children Aid Agency - Medicine and Chernobyl" one of the largest and best known charities in the country, helps us select priority children and prepares all their documentation according to Belarus governmental regulations, arranging for all visas and paper work needed for the trip.   

We invite children who have never been abroad, either through other charitable projects or with their own families, and we reserve the right to decline hospitality to children or to their mentors if we feel that they are not those most in need or are in any other way unsuited to what we are able to offer.

During the recuperative holiday there is one supervisor for every three children. In accordance with the request of "Independent Children Aid - Medicine and Chernobyl", children are guaranteed three healthy meals a day and much free time to rest and relax in addition to many planned activities.

In addition to the children’s recuperative holidays in Crete, Crete For life is involved in sponsoring other projects for the benefit of the children, their families and their communities. For example we help supply basic goods that are difficult to find or are too expensive to buy in Belarus, such as teaching aids, school supplies and washing and cleaning materials, toiletries, winter clothes and shoes. We also aim to provide good quality vitamins and essential medicines to help maintain the children’s good health during the year.  

Representatives of the charity visit Belarus regularly to maintain close contacts with the children and to ensure that our resources are used in the best possible way. We shall also do what we can to help the children we support, in their everyday life, adapting our support to their changing needs and helping them to help themselves.

See also:

The Chernobyl Catastrophe