Local businessman Francois DeDietrich of Etic Solutions, Ballybofey made a donation of €3000 to the Bellarussian Orphanage Project (BOP). This is a voluntary registered charity working with children and adults in institutions and orphanages in Minsk, Belarus. The work of the BOP is varied but the primary aim is to meet the holistic needs of the kids that live in the one of their three institutions.
Each summer over 150 volunteers travel to Minsk to participate in a 7-10 day/2 week Summer Project which is a high energy, fun experience for both volunteers and the kids. Volunteers get to spent their time interacting and playing games with the kids
, helping each and every child to make memories that will last a lifetime.
BOP has built and staffed a Rehabilitation Therapy Centre in Minsk. Here residents of each of the three institutions learn all aspects of social integration and personal care. After years of living in institutions, this helps to develop basic life skills and encourage a more independent standard of living for the children as they grow.
Though BOP is completely made up of volunteers, they do employ part time and full time Belarusian staff who care for the children throughout the year and especially at times when volunteers are not present. Payment of nursing staff is made possible by the volunteers raising between €1,300 and €1,700 before they arrive in Belarus, most of which is used to pay staff and nursing costs.
Francois DeDietrich, Managing Director of Etic Solution said: "I was delighted to be involved in the BOP charity as they provide under privileged children with a standard of living that would be impossible otherwise".
Next year, BOP will be recruiting a new batch of volunteers who will work to develop more projects and carry on the work that has been done for the last 13 years. To find out how to get involved with the charity, go to www.bop.ie for further details.
