Crete for life

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2007: Fun, sun and another great Cretan holiday...  

Once again, thanks to the enthusiasm and generosity of all our friends, we were able to host sixteen children for a one month's therapeutic holiday in Crete. Eleven of them were old friends who returned for the second time; the other five new children, who attend the same school in Possadetz, have heard so much about the previous holiday at Crete For Life, that were delighted and excited to be included.

Among those who took part in the organization, both in Crete and abroad, we had a fantastic multicultural and multilingual resident team who looked after the children from day one. This included the two Belarus guardians, our old friend Natalia and Doctor Vlad, a French-horn player and an engineer from Canada, two wonderful artists from Italy and England, a real Venetian, our favourite girl-guide from Belgium and a German swimming champion.

This wonderful mosaic of talents resulted in a number of exciting activities and moments which have delighted and informed the children and created a truly magical atmosphere for everybody.

There were a number of organized activities, alternated with days of rest and seaside activities. Arts and Crafts took a good share of our time; the children and their tutors worked together in the organization of a show that took place in front of hundreds of spectators. From the program, to the costumes, stage sets, music and text (in English, Greek and Russian!) all was created by the children. The show was a great success and our guests were justly proud of their achievement.

During the stay, we organized a number of visits to various professions, including a much requested introduction to computers and the internet. Although their school has a computer, donated by Crete For Life, they do not have internet connection; even the joungest children, however, are aware of the importance of this technology in their future lives. Among other formative activities, we continued with the daily short classes in Greek and English languages, and Doctor Vlad taught several classes of medical information and first aid. If this seems too serious (and I can assure you, it wasn't!) we also went to the hairdresser, had our faces painted (twice), made cakes, went to a basketball match and spent a day on a deserted island!

There were some difficult or tiring moments, but many times we all tought "...this cannot get better than this": happy bright faces all around, collecting happy memories, good health and small coloured stones on a Cretan beach!

Many thanks to all of you for making it happen!

2006: A wonderful holiday in Crete with the children from  Possadetz !

Between June 14th and July 14, we have had the great joy of hosting a group of twelve children from the school of Possadetz, 60 km. north east of Minsk, Belarus, for a therapeutic holiday. Our guests, who are between 7 and 12 years old, have been a complete pleasure to be with, and their enthusiasm, for the sea, for swimming, playing and all the many activities that we have shared with them, has been contagious for anybody that was involved in the project.

The local community of Ierapetra has warmly welcomed all the children with open arms, with the natural, but uniquely generous hospitality, that makes Crete such a special place.

The first welcome to Greece, was supplied by Aegean Airlines, who, in addition to donating all the return flights from Athens to Crete, for the children and their two guardians, have gone out of their way to make both trips as easy and fun as possible.

The transport from and to Heraklion Airport, provided by the Mayor of Ierapetra, took us to our final destination, Avra Beach Apartments in Koutsounari. Throughout the month, the manager, Vassilis Nicolettos, has tirelessly provided the children with everything they could need, including the most delicious food prepared daily by him, endless quantities of ice cream and much love and affection, so that the kids have felt at home from the very first moment of their arrival.

During their therapeutic stay, the children’s health has been carefully checked by the specialists in the hospital of Ierapetra, where all health care,  including various tests, have been provided free of charge. During their stay, the children have benefited enormously from the island’s renowned climate, all the hours spent in the open air and in the sea, and from the celebrated Cretan diet, particularly local fruit, which they never tired of.

We alternated days at Avra, where the children, not having ever seen the sea before in their lives, all learned to swim during their stay, perhaps the single achievement that has made them most proud. During these days, we had several visits from local children and their families, often playing together thanks to the enthusiastic organization of the local Odigos (girl scouts) and Boy Scout clubs which made the lack of a common language seem quite irrelevant.

Concerning communication, we must mention that the children were keen to attend their daily short lesson in Greek language, quickly mastering the necessary vocabulary. In addition to this, the two Belarus guardians, a pediatric ear specialist Hanna Fazdeyeva, and the English University teacher Nataliya Nikalayuk, have been unflagging in their care and support of the children and of the Crete For Life project, especially in providing a bridge of understanding between the children and everyone involved in their stay.

In between swimming, we had organized several day trips and events. One of the most memorable was to Thalassokosmos, the newly opened acquarium near Heraklion, where the children had the opportunity to discover the mysteries of the underwater world. From that day on, many hours were spent looking underwater with their masks, and marveling at fishes of all sizes. We have also been warmly welcomed in Aios Nikolaos, by a group of English friends who have done much to raise money within their community, pledging to help in the future with all Crete For Life’s projects. 

We had several special days in Ierapetra, watching football matches, eating pizza and fresh fish, and following various events organized during the “Nautical Week” festivities. We were invited by the Mayor, who provided everybody with gifts for the school and visited by the His Holiness the Bishop of Ierapetra and Sitia, who blessed the children and gave them images of the Holy Virgin of Ierapetra. Many people from the community of Ierapetra have continuously given the children many generous presents of clothes, toys, toiletries, and so on.

A few days before the departure, we had a farewell party in Ierapetra where Cretan dances and Belarus singing finally joined in a happy celebration. It has been truly amazing the response that these wonderful children have triggered in the community, which has embraced them as its own and shown, and given, much affection which was fully reciprocated by the children. They have all asked to come back next year and we are all waiting for their return.

These therapeutic holidays have had a tangible effect on the children from Possadetz. Not only have their immune systems had a break from radiation and from radioactive food. The seaside climate and healthy food have in fact lowered the radioactivity in their bodies, by between 40% and 80%, boosting their immune system and thus helping them to resist serious illness in the future. During their stay, all those that needed, to  have put on weight and all the children’s spirits have opened up and literally bloomed; they spent a full month carefree and playing, something that does not happen normally in their lives.

The therapeutic holiday we have provided will have left a positive reference point in their mind, acting as a stimulus to break the circle of poverty, ill health and low expectations these children sadly inhabit. We pledge to do all we can to repeat this experience yearly, hopefully adding a few more children every year.

To name all the many people who have helped would take too long here. We would like however  to offer our warmest thank all our friends from Greece, and in particular Crete, Italy, England, France, Germany and the United States. At Crete For Life, the common goal is to help children. This is done by people of good will from many different countries and walk of lives. Your generosity has changed lives.

1986-2006 : 20th years anniversary, 

«The Chernobyl’s Legacy »

On the 26th April 1986 there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus.  During a radioactive fire that burned for 10 days, 190 tons of toxic material  was expelled into the atmosphere, more than 100 times the combined bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Excessive levels of radiation were recorded as far as Sweden, Wales, Ireland, Greece and Alaska. Because of the wind directions during those days, 70% of the radioactive material was blown off into the country of Belarus. 60,000 “liquidators” (mostly soldiers and firefighters) were sent to extinguished the fire and build a temporary sarcophagus around the exploded reactor. Their bravery and courage save Europe from what could have been an extremely serious nuclear catastrophe. Many have died as a result of acute radiation exposure. The sarcophagus temporary structure was meant to last 15/20 years. There are plans to begin the building of the new structure in 2008. As only 3% of radioactive material was dispersed during the explosion, 97% remains inside the crumbling and leaking structure of the nuclear plant. At the time of the catastrophe, at least 7 million people lived in the contaminated areas, including 3.5 million children. They were exposed to massive doses of radioactive Iodine 131, Caesium 137, Strontium 90 and Plutonium-239. These elements are spread via dust particles, which are inhaled and are deposited in the earth from where they enter the food chain through plants and animals. 400.000 people have been evacuated. 2000 villages raised to the ground and hundreds more were abandoned. Today, about 5.5 million people live in contaminated areas, including more than a million children. 21% of Belarusian land is dangerously contaminated and will remain so for hundreds of years. 99% of Belarus is somehow contaminated. While levels of external radiation are slowly diminishing, agriculture and forestry continue in contaminated areas, as poverty forces many people to produce and consume contaminated food. The effect of long-term exposure to radiation is becoming more and more apparent. There have been rises in many types of cancer, hearth diseases, respiratory and digestive problems. Children’s immune systems are particularly vulnerable to exposure to radiation. Because the effects of radiation are cumulative, many Belarusian children are affected by chronic health problems and have seriously damaged immune systems.  Belarusian doctors have indicated that 90% per cent of children in the country have some health problems. There is a 250% increase in children born with deformities and 100% increase of cases of cancer and leukaemia. In southern Belarus thyroid cancer in children has increased by 10,000% and one in every four children suffers from thyroid abnormalities.

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                 CRETE 2007

                     CRETE 2006

                            BELARUS