Words fail me to describe the outpouring of love and charity from everyone associated with the American Belarussian Relief Organization, which includes doctors, churches and individuals across central Carolina. But I’ll try anyway. The Fayetteville Observer wrote about it today:
In 1986, a cloud of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster blew over the former Soviet Republic. According to some estimates, 70 percent of the radiation fell on Belarus.
Authorities say people affected by the disaster suffer from a variety of diseases, including thyroid problems, cancer and Hodgkin’s disease. More than 1.8 million people, including 500,000 children, live in radioactive zones in Belarus, according to a Web site for the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline.
For six weeks during the summer, families bring children over and take them to doctors for health screenings. The children are given physical examinations, checked for cavities and signs of vision and neurological problems. They are given medical supplies such as aspirin, vitamins and Band-Aids to take home, said Shirley Simmons, the medical coordinator for Little River’s program. “They become like members of the family,” Simmons said.
It takes a massive effort by Simmons ? nothing short of remarkable ? to coordinate doctors, dentists, and eye doctors to see the children (along with the interpreters). It is incredible to witness this annual display of love and selfless giving ? doctors donating valuable time and services; individuals such as Simmons and the rest of the wonderful, big-hearted folk in the Little River Baptist Association (and other host organizations, surely) donating time, energy, and love; individuals donating clothes, gifts, and supplies for the children; and the host families, opening their homes (not to mention their hearts) to these children half a world over who don’t even speak their language. What a picture of God’s love.