LOCAL GROUPS

FOCC Northallerton - Charity 1069788

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Group Coordinator:  Linda Spence - tel. 01609 773708 - email

My Five Day First Visit To Mogilev, Belarus  

Tuesday 8^th March to Sunday 13^th March 2011 

Tuesday 8^th March 2011 

Linda and Geoffrey picked me up at 9.15am, we caught the 9.45am train to Kings Cross, London. 

We had a pleasant journey, chatted and looked at the beautiful English countryside. 

We arrived in London and caught the underground train to Gatwick Airport.   

We rang the hotel where we were staying for the night and the minibus came shortly after to pick us up.  We had to stay in their sister hotel as they were having a refurbishment.  The second hotel was larger and very nice.   

Linda and I had a lovely evening meal there.  After the meal we sat in bed and chatted about the next five days – our exciting adventure. 

Wednesday 9^th March 2011 

We woke early, had a lovely cooked breakfast and got the minibus to the airport. 

At the check-in we were told our suitcases were overweight and that we would have to pay for the extra kilos.  We were not happy.  Luckily some ladies from another group told us we were a charity and were allowed 30 kilos.  Back to the check-in, all was good the second time.

We went through departures and headed for Costa.  We were slightly delayed on our flight times but all went well during the flight.  Landing went well as we arrived in Minsk airport.  Linda and I looked at each other, we were finally here, in Belarus.  It felt cold even before we got off the plane. 

Customs went well and our luggage came quickly.  We were met by Katya from the office and Sergey an interpreter from another group.   

Our bus journey to Mogilev took just under three hours.  It did not seem that long at all. 

At the hotel, we were greeted by Luda an interpreter who came to us in Northallerton in 2006, Olga and Oksana our current interpreters.  We got our hotel key and walked up the four flights of stairs to our hotel room.  There was no lift. 

The hotel rooms were beautiful; Linda let me have the pink bedroom.  We left our cases unopened as we were going to Oksanas for dinner. 

Sergey was our driver, a very nice kind man, he works with Oksana in her school.  He did not speak English. 

We had a beautiful traditional Belarussian meal, drank vodka and wine, met Oksana's parents and son Vlad.  Sergey took us home at 11.00pm.  We were not tired but too excited to sleep so decided to have a night-cap, a gift given to us by Oksana's father – I had orange with mine!!!! 

Thursday 10^th March 

We woke early, had breakfast and waited for Oksana and Olga to arrive.  We were going to be visiting four city children today.  We went to the supermarket to change our dollars to rubles. 

We bought four bags of basic provisions for the four city children.   

On the way to the first child's home, we stopped at a little cafe the interpreters had chosen for us to hold a party for the older children that had visited Northallerton in previous years.  Pizza, cake and milkshake for 15 children and 5 adults. 

The first boy we visited was Alexander.  He was very shy and his mum was very nervous.  Linda and I had decided that hopefully upon meeting the children and parents we would be able to choose the correct host family.  Strangely we both chose the same host family to each child. 

The second child we met was Dimitry.  His mother became very emotional, which set me off.  She was very grateful for choosing her son to come to England. 

Kirill was the third boy, a very cheeky faced boy, he will liven the group up. 

Elizabeth, the first girl we visited was at school, so her mother went to collect her.  Her mother had made us tea and had bought a delicious cake for our visit. 

After visiting the four city children we went to Olga's auntie's for something to eat.  Olga is a girl Linda had hosted for six years.  It was lovely to see her, see how much she had grown and how rosy her cheeks looked. 

At 6.00pm Sergey picked us up as we were then going to Olga the interpreters for dinner.  We had another beautiful meal and met Olga's mother and daughter Kristina.  Olga's mother was very happy to meet us as she had heard so many wonderful stories of Linda and I during Olga's visit to England. 

Sergey took us back to the hotel about 11.00pm, another long day.  We were not tired so chatted about our day and the new children we had visited. 

Friday 11^th March 

After breakfast, Olga and Oksana came to meet us.  Sergey took us to look round the city and we visited a beautiful crystal shop.  Linda and I bought special gifts there for our family. 

We headed back to the same supermarket to buy the same provisions as the previous day.  We bought four bags for the village children we were going to visit and two bags for the city children we would be visiting the next day. 

We had only been given the names of the village children that morning, so we were unsure if they would be at school or home.  Some homes in the villages do not have telephones. 

The village was over an hour from the city.  We arrived at the first house, Maria's, only her great-grandmother was home.  Maria was at school.  As we had not met Maria, Linda decided she would host her.  Her great-grandmother was very grateful to Linda and thanked her many times for taking Maria into her home. 

The only boy from the village we visited was Danila.  Danila's mum rang the school and asked if he could come home to see us.  Within two minutes he had ran home.  Danila knew Maria and Sasha from school.  Sasha was the next girl we would be visiting.  After we left, we saw Danila run back to school, down the snowy paths. 

Sergey had to drive very carefully in the villages as there was a lot of snow still and not many cars are in the villages.  We stopped to take photos of the school and the church. 

While roaming the village looking for Sasha's home, we came across a girl aged about seven, walking along the road.  Sergey asked if she was Maria, she said she was not but knew Maria from school.  Sergey also asked the girl if she knew the road which Sasha lived on.  The girl did and directed him. 

When we eventually reached Sasha's home, only her mother and two younger siblings were there.  We chatted to mum about Sasha and her visit to England. About fifteen minutes later Sasha walked in her door.  Sasha had come home from school early to see us.  Danila her friend, had ran back to school, gone to see her in the classroom, told her that we were going to her home to visit her, so she had left school early and walked the two miles home to see Linda and I. 

Sasha was the girl we chatted to on the roadside.  She then put on her best clothes and brushed her hair for us.  I think she was trying to tell us she would like to visit England. 

We left the village where three children lived and headed for another village where we would be visiting Karina.  When we got to her home, only her grandmother was in.  She said Karina would be home from school shortly with her cousin Polina.  Both girls arrived home about ten minutes later.  Karina was a very shy, quiet girl who seemed very close to her cousin. 

We left that village and headed back to Mogilev. 

On the way, we stopped off at a place with lots of little cabins.  Each one sold different crafts made of different materials.  Straw, pot, wooden beautiful gifts one could buy.  The last one we visited sold pure 55% vodka.  I had a tiny sip, it was not to my liking.  I wonder if it was the tiny sip of vodka that encouraged me to make a snow angel in the beautifully, fresh laid, soft, white snow??? 

Sergey took us back to the hotel to collect the presents and party bags for the children's party. 

When we arrived at the party, all the children we invited from previous years were there waiting to see us.  Oksana's son Vlad, Yulia, Katia, Olga, Marina, Polina, Veronica, Vlad, Vyacheslav, Slavic, Sasha, Maksim, Tanya, Artyom and of course my Karina. 

It was lovely to see the older children and they were very happy to see each other.  They all looked very healthy compared to the little ones we had visited over the last two days. 

It clearly showed what we, the charity, are doing is very worthwhile. 

Sergey picked us up after the party and took us to Luda's for dinner.  Luda lived on the fifth floor, with no lifts.  After Sergey picked us up, he took us to visit a beautiful statue in the city.  You touch the statues toe for good luck and finger to come into money.  Of course you have to touch both. 

Saturday 12^th March 

After breakfast, Sergey and Oksana came for us.  We were picking Olga up on the way as she lived near the ninth child we were visiting. 

The ninth child was Anastasia.  They were expecting us and had bought cake and had made tea.  Anastasia was a kind and helpful girl for her mother, she had three younger siblings and an older brother. 

The last girl we visited was another Anastasia, but liked to be called Nastya.  Nastya lived with her mother in a block of flats.  Both seemed very worried about her visit to England, but Linda and I assured her she would have a wonderful experience and would settle in well with her host family. 

So, we had visited all the new ten children we would hopefully be inviting to England in June 2011. 

Six girls and four boys, how exciting it all was. 

We went to the supermarket to buy some basic shopping for my Karina and some luxury items for Linda's Olga.  Oksana and Olga advised us which food to buy for each family. 

We then went to Karina's home, they had been waiting all day for us.  It was lovely to meet her family, especially her mum after knowing them for five years and of course her baby brother. 

We stayed at Karina's for about an hour.  I asked Karina's mum if she could see a difference in Karina after her two week Christmas visit.  She said she was amazed at how healthy Karina looked and could see she had put weight on.  (Half a stone in two weeks, well it was Christmas!). 

We said our sad goodbyes to my darling Karina and headed back on the snowy city roads.  Oksana and Olga took us to a church/convent in the city.  It was a wonderful, beautiful church and the ceiling looked spectacular.   We had to wear skirts and head scarves.   

After the church we went to Polina's grandparents for dinner.  They live in a village just outside the city.  They had put on a wonderful meal for the five of us.  After the main meal, we went outside for a BBQ.  It was rather cold so Polina's grandparents took us into their sauna in their garden. 

After the BBQ we returned into their home to have dessert.  Such delicious sweets, how could we refuse! 

We returned to the hotel and Oksana, Olga and Sergey came up to our room for a farewell drink.  Sergey gave Linda and I a beautiful, wooden, handmade stand with two chopping boards.  A gift we will both treasure forever.  They left and Linda and I tackled the task of packing, which we eventually managed to do. 

Sunday 13^th March 

We woke early, had our breakfast and went down the four flights of stairs, sadly, to go to the minibus.  Oksana, Olga and Sergey were there to say their goodbyes and wave us off. 

The journey back to the airport was light and we all chatted about our last several days, passing on tips and useful pieces of information for our own groups. 

When we got to the airport, Katoosha one of our older children from 2010 was there to see us for a short while.  We had invited her to the little party, but as she lived near Minsk, she was unable to attend.   

We went through customs, all went well and our cases were not too heavy!  The return flight went well, more chatting to other groups. 

We got through our customs well too and made our way to Costa again.  We were not catching our train for a couple of hours so we went to Nandos in King's Cross for dinner.  Linda and I headed for the train, the last part of our incredible journey, hugging our heavy cases round too. 

We arrived back in Northallerton just after 9.00pm.  Linda's husband and son were there to meet us. 

So............I would like to say a big thank you to all of those who made my first visit to Belarus possible.  I had a truly wonderful, exciting, memorable experience, one that will stay with me forever. 

I hope that if I ever return in the future, everything will run as smoothly. 

Our two interpreters Olga and Oksana were absolutely fantastic and could not have helped and taken care of Linda and myself any more than they did. 

Sergey our driver, was a true gentleman and took very good care of us around the streets of Mogilev and the villages very carefully, despite the dreadful snow conditions in the villages. 

The new children we visited seemed happy and pleased to see us.  We could clearly see on their faces they need our help. 

All in all, it was a wonderful, unforgettable trip.  Thank you to all that made is successful. With extra special thanks to my wonderful friend Linda Spence. 

Katherine Smith (Secretary of FOCC Northallerton Group)