CCI Achievements

CCI Achievements since 1986:

• Aid Delivery: €108 million worth of aid delivered to impoverished communities and children across Chernobyl regions since 1986.

• Rest and Recuperation: 26,500 children have been given on rest and recuperation holidays with host families in Ireland.

• Alternatives to Orphanages: Homes of Hope Programme – CCI’s ‘Homes of Hope’ programme provides the alternative to state institutions via 30 homes that have been purchased and renovated, this is the equivalent of closing three orphanages in Belarus. It takes children out of orphanages, and places them in loving homes of their own.

• Independent Living programme: CCI has pioneered a historic Independent Living programme for teenage boys and girls who live in Institutional care. Many of these teenagers, once they reach the age of 18 years, are moved onto Adult Institutions. This pilot programme has led to discussions with the Belarusian government who agreed to the establishment of the Independent Living programme and also helped to bring about change in Belarusian law to enable the programme to be rolled out throughout Belarus.

• CCI have pioneered both a Restoration of Rights Programme and a Life-Skills Home which enables residents of Vesnova Children’s Mental Asylum, who have the capacity to care for themselves, to live a life free from segregation and incarceration in institutions. In March 2019, following 15 years of work on legislation and regulation, we had our first successful guided a participant to have their full rights restored to them. This is a historic precedent for all unneccesarily incarcerated people in institutional care and will mark the ‘beginning of the end’ for the dangerous cycle of institutionalisation. Since then, 5 more participants have regained their Rights.

• Cardiac: CCI has developed a child cardiac surgery programme in Belarus and the Ukraine to combat the marked increase in cardiac birth defects since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.

• CCI has assisted in the building and equipping an Intensive care Units and Cath laboratory in Kharkiv hospital.

• 4,200 of life-saving cardiac surgeries performed and enabled over the last twelve years by CCI.

• Hospice: CCI has built and equipped the first ever baby hospice in Belarus. CCI has provided expert training to the staff to ensure the best care to patients.

• Day Care Centres: Ten new centres have been built or refurbished giving educational, medical and social services to populations of over 30,000 per centre.

• Adoption: CCI pioneered the ground breaking adoption agreement between Ireland and Belarus on behalf on the Irish government. This agreement allowed hundreds of children to be adopted into Ireland.

• Mental health and disability development: Since 1986 there has been a marked increase in children being born with mental and physical disabilities. CCI has pioneered the Human Rights of people incarcerated in institutional care. This is at the very heart of the CCI mission.