| Connacht squad visit Chernobyl Sunflower Summer Camp | |||||
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  The Connacht Rugby team paid a visit to the Sunflower Chernobyl Summer Camp in Esker in July, to meet some of the children who have visited the facility. Connacht Fitness Advisor, Des Ryan, had set up a series of games for the children to interact with the players in, which proved to be an overwhelming success. Volleyball, soccer and an obstacle course were a few of the activities that both sets of players took part in, before a soccer final between the Summer Camp and the Connacht Rugby Team resulted in a 5-2 victory for the Summer Camp players.  Connacht Captain, Andrew Farley, discovers that keeping the ball in the air could be to his sides advantage The Chernobyl Sunflower Appeal has been operating in a voluntary capacity for over 10 years now, receiving no state funding and relying solely on voluntary donations to keep their projects alive. This is the second year of the ‘Summer Camp' for children, who until last year were housed in the local community. The children number 103 in total, 60 of which are staying at Esker Monastery, along with several carers for special needs children, doctors, nurses and translators from Belarus, who have also donated their time. Chairman for the Chernobyl Sunflowers Appeal, Pat Dillon, is delighted with the response the charity has received from members of the community as well as the countless businesses from the Galway area who have donated their services to help make this charity a success.  The Muldoon brothers, Conor (left) and John (right) help one of the children to complete the obstacle course "The volunteers in the local community in Esker, who cater for all 103 children, feed all of them, clean and look after their needs for a month is a huge gesture on behalf of those people, who so are so giving of their time. It's overwhelming that people have been so nice to them. Any help we've looked for, people have been very forthcoming right across the board." "Its impossible to name all the companies who've contributed. I'd like to thank the Redemptorist Order of Monks here at Esker Youth Village for donating use of their facility. Our other main sponsors would have been Bus Eireann, Farrell Transport in Athenry, Barrett Transport, Ballinasloe swimming pool, Raheen Woods Hotel, the Fire Service and Gardai who had events organised for the kids as well as all the businesses in Athenry and the Galway area who helped out generously. "All the hospitals in Galway and all dentists donated treatment as well as GPs in the area. The Atlantic prosthetic clinic who are currently fitting one of the children with legs, the list is endless." The charity does not end there. Over the years it has been successful in helping several communities in Belarus which have been heavily affected by the Chernobyl disaster. "We're currently working in eight institutions and half way houses where kids can go while deciding whether it would be best to put them in an orphanage permanently or find a family for them. We're currently hoping to have another day care centre built in Minsk, which'll help to take them out of the orphanage and teach them independent living. There are many families who can't cope and therefore leave their kids in the orphanages. The idea of a day care centre is to allow parents to work and pick them up after work, so as to reduce the numbers that are in the orphanages. The charity is currently focusing on a number of projects including another day care centre as well as some individual projects. "We're trying to raise finances for cancer drugs as well as legs for one child in particular which'll cost €10,000. We're also trying to get a new roof fitted to a day care centre in a badly contaminated area called, Mikasheichi. Its important that we complete that project before the bad weather sets in, so every donation is welcome." For more information on the Chernobyl Sunflower Appeal, go to www.chernobylsunflowers.ie or contact Pat Dillon, Chairman of the Charity, directly on 087 4172307. |
| Last Updated ( Monday, 30 July 2007 16:34 ) |  |
