The Ukrainian Weekly 1993

No. 49 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1993Chomobyl fund branches out"Help Us Help the Children"assists orphanages, hospitalsby Christopher GulyOTTAWA - A little boy stands in hiscrib as urine trinkles down his leg. Hewas bom without genitalia; a red gapinghole appears in its place. Ukrainianphysicians claim only specialists at NorthAmerican hospitals can surgically correctthe boy's painful circumstance.In another Ukrainian city, two smallchildren embrace. Both were bom withphysical abnormalities. The girl's handseach have only one hooked finger; bothfeet are club. Her young male playmateis missing one leg, while the other istwisted.All three are among more than 80,000Ukrainian children living in close to 60orphanages. They range in age frominfants to teens age 17. Many of theyoungest are believed to be victims ofthe 1986 nuclear accident that producedsignificant doses of radiation in close to900,000 children throughout Ukraine.Today, they have become the "childrenof Chomobyl."Others are the children of other nightmares.Abandonment, domestic violence,economic hardship within families, alcoholismand crime have also producedorphans in Ukraine.Their new homes are government-runorphanages. Some parents even placetheir children in such institutions forone- to two-year periods because theycan't afford to raise them, explainedRuslana Wrzesnewskyj. "Orphanages inUkraine are becoming what we know inNorth America as foster homes," shesaid. "They're becoming a safe socialsafety net."Although these Ukrainian fosterorphanageshave succeeded as safehavens, they desperately lack supplies.That's why Ms. Wrzesnewskyj andtwo other women organized "Help UsHelp The Children...We Are TheirFuture," under the auspices of theChildren of Chomobyl Canadian Fundearlier this year."One of the women, Julianne Uggla,had been to Ukraine this spring andbrought along $100,000 worth of humanitariangoods for children," noted Ms.Wrzesnewskyj, who adopted an orphangirl, now 21 months old, last December.(She and her videographer husband,Andy Cottrell, have three daughters oftheir own.) "We agreed there was aneed," she added.Over the past year, the group, whichhas now expanded to include medicalprofessionals, has raised more than CDN$600,000 (Canadian) worth of medicines,vitamins, vaccines, baby formula, food,clothing and toys for these orphans.Ukrainian orphanages are divided byage into three categories: for infants to 3-year olds, those age 3-7, and "intemats"for those 7 to 17.Ms. Wrzesnewskyj, who was recentlyin Ottawa speaking to the local UkrainianCanadian Professional and BusinessAssociation about the project, hasalready made two delivery visits toUkraine. In two weeks this October, thegroup trekked 2,500-miles across thecountry, stopping at 16 orphanages.They came armed with nine tons ofsupplies donated mostly by Canadianpharmaceutical companies. One donated550,000 chewable kids' vitamins; another,$300,000 worth of medication.Both офЬапа§Є8 and pediatric hospitalsreceived healthy doses of medicalkits containing antibiotics, penicillin,acetominophen, aspirin, de-wormingpills, anti-lice rinses, hormonal creams,vitamins and syringes. Pharmacist MotriaDzulynsky, who sits on the group's pharmaceuticalsubcommittee, said each kitcontained 20 different types of medications.Pills came with Ukrainian-languageinstmctions on dosage, expiration, ageappropriatenessand equivalence towhat's currently used in Ukraine.Ms. Wrzesnewskyj, an occupationaltherapist by training, explained thatUkrainian medicine is 20 years behindNorth American standards.A shipment of MMR (mumps,measles and rubella) vaccine from theMontreal-based pharmaceutical collectionagency MAP International ofCanada had to be diverted to anothercountry because the Ukrainian govemmentisn't set up to dispense it. However,medication used for treating asthma didmake it through."When I brought them the stuff inOctober that they told me they needed inAugust, they looked at us and said that alot of people make comimitments," Ms.Wrzesnewskyj related. "They said, 'Youfollowed through.' And that meant asmuch to them as what we brought.""Help Us Help The Children" hasmade a three-year conmiitment to assistUkrainian orphanages and children'shospitals. In May, the group plans toreturn to Ukraine and bring more than50 tons, worth $5 million (Canadian),of medical and humanitarian suppliesfor 10,000 children living in 60 orphanages.To donate supplies or money, contact:"Help Us Help The Children," Childrenof Chornobyl Canadian Fund, 1555Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ontario, M6P1A5; phone, (416) 532-2223; fax (416)588-2696.Photos in this seriesby Alexander F. Stepanov of Kyyiv.An example of physical defects at the Zaporizhzhia orphanage. Here, thegirPs right hand has seven fingers,her left is club.Similarly dressed boys at a Kremenchuk facility. Boy (far left) with cleft mouthand cross eyes, believed to be either a symptom of Chornobyl or fetal alcoholsyndrome, an increasingly common occurrence in Ukrainian orphanages.Ruslana Wrzesnewskyj (standing, first on right) of "Help Us Help the Children" surveys the situation at a 600"bed pediatrichospital In Luhanske, which doesn't have enough monitors for premature Infants.