Leaves of Hope - Latest about Nastya

July 2010 Convoy

The journey - Paul

There were the ten of us pupils and the four teachers in the minibus, with the owner of the charity and some other helpers travelling in a campervan. For the three days that we travelled, we slept in the school minibus on the seats.
It was really important to us that we didn’t waste any of the money that you helped us to fundraise, so we didn’t stay in hotels and we cooked our own meals by the side of the road. We ate on the side of the road, that way we had more money for the children in the orphanage

Before we went we were a random group and we didn’t know each other but over the three days it helped us to get to know each other and become good mates. This helped us when we got to the orphanage as we had to work together as a team and also help each other as we were a long way from home

On the way back there were a few interesting incidents, Mr Wintle got pulled over for going through a red light and some of the services we stopped in were a bit dodgy. The campervan we were travelling with had 2 near crashes, luckily the minibus was fine because Miss Houghton was driving and she is amazing. We managed to make it back in one piece and the journey turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip.

Where we stayed – Arron

During our time in Belarus, we stayed in a boarding school for children. The children who normally live there were off on summer camp, so we stayed in their rooms. It was only a short drive from the orphanage that we were working in. it is where the children go when they are too old for our orphanage. the reason for the children and on making their orphanage look better instead.
The corridors were long and dark and it was very very basic accommodation.

The children did not have plugs in their rooms because they do not own any electrical items. Their beds and rooms are small, there wasn’t much room for us to put our stuff there and we were only staying for a week. It made us realise how little these children have. The place that we stayed in is called the internat. It made us understand how the children must feel when they leave our orphanage and go and live in the internat.

What we did – Lauren

While we were there, we did lots of fun things with the kids. We kept them busy everyday with activities that they don’t often get a chance to do because they are expensive, such as painting, using glitter and stickers to make pictures. Mixing up cornflour and water to make ‘gloop’ which the kids thought was amazing (and so did we!) We had a sports day for the kids, we played games with them and every day we cuddled them and made them feel loved.

This was the most important thing of all. The children were smiling, happy and laughing everyday that we were there. We were tired at the end of every day because we were picking them up and swinging them around. It was great to see them so happy. We also gave them fruit and sweets. They don’t often get these so it was a real treat for them. They loved it.

Jessica sang to the children	Painting	Colouring

Enjoying their fruit	Waterplay	Making playdough

Painting and Maintenance - Hannah

In our spare time we painted some of the outside play equipment and two of the outside play huts, where the children spend most of the day. We painted them because they were really dull and rusty and now it looks like a place where children live and play. It was important that we painted the frames and huts because the owner of the orphanage takes money out of the maintenance fund to help feed the children as they are only given one dollar a day from the government, the equivalent of about 50p.

That’s three meals a day for just 50p.
So now when the officials come round they can say that the money has gone towards painting. By painting the orphanage equipment it also brings some life and colour into their tiny home and makes their environment more interesting. So even though it was exhausting to paint in the hot weather and in our spare time, we knew that it was a great thing to do and made such a difference to the children there.

Embassy – Rhys

When we went to Minsk we visited the British embassy. We all shuffled past strict security and shook hands with the ambassador for Britain. She set out an amazing spread of tea, cake and biscuits. We were all dressed in our school uniform and had our photos taken with our translators. When we finished our cups of tea we were awarded our certificates and posed for yet more pictures with the ambassador, who thankfully wasn’t English, she was Scottish. She made a speech at the end, congratulating us on all the hard work we had put in to helping the lives of the children less fortunate as us. She told us that we had made her and our country proud and that we should be proud of ourselves. It made us realise how important it was to do something like this and what a difference it made.

Difference we made – Tom

We made such a difference to the children’s lives. When we were there, we realised that they had nothing. We really helped them through playing games with them and giving them attention. Every day that we were there we made them smile. The play grounds that they use every day are now painted colourful and bright. The work that we did for the week that we were was so important because it improved those children’s lives massively. We made them happy, smile and laugh everyday, which all children should be able to do.

How I felt – Libby (Betty)

When I was picked for this Belarus trip I had mixed feelings, I was happy and excited but also scared and worried. When we arrived at Belarus I was delighted, it was amazing. When we first met the kids it was great, seeing those children everyday made me feel so lucky to be making a difference in their lives. Doing the simplest things made the children so happy and it was great to be part of their lives.

Thankyou Chanelle (years 8,9,10 and 11)

We just want to say a massive thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the money that you helped us to fundraise. We couldn’t have gone on this trip without your help. Every time you bought an ice lolly, paid your pound for non-uniform day or put your change in the pot next to the till in the canteen, it meant that we could go and help these children. With your money, we were able to buy the children equipment like paint, glitter, sports equipment which we were able to leave at the orphanage. We also bought paint to cheer up their environment and it meant that we could make their orphanage better. For everything you did to help us, no matter how small, we cannot thank you enough.

From all the children in Belarus, thank you.

(Year 7)

We hope we have told you a little bit about our trip to Belarus. We had a fun time but we also did something that was really serious and changed the lives of so many children. We were only able to go at all because of the money that this school fundraised together to get us there. With the money that was fundraised we were able to buy the children equipment like paint, glitter, sports equipment which we were able to leave at the orphanage. We also bought paint to cheerup their environment and it meant that we could make their orphanage better. You can part of the fundraising this year. Why not ask your reg teacher if you can keep a box for loose change in your reg? Put your change in the pot next to the till in the canteen. Give money whenever you see someone fundraising and when the weather gets hot, you can buy ice lollies and all the profits go to the children in Belarus.

‘Leaves of Hope’ would like to thank Team Belarus 2010 for all that they did for the children. Team Belarus 2010: Lorayne Houghton, Gerard Kelly, Amanda McGregor, Carol Stamp, Anne Sutton, Zena Williams, Jonathan Wintle, Rhys Andrews, Paul Carzana, Chanelle Cross, Aaron Cusack, Connor Greet, Jessica Hallet, Lauren Perry, Libby Robinson, Hannah Williams and Tomos Young.

Special thanks also goes to Minsk Director Luda Tagay and Interpreters: Oleg, Stas, Luda and Snezhana.