How it all began: Bridges to Belarus began with an interest from Rachel Furley when she began working with people from the regions of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl disaster when she was at secondary school. She helped fundraising for a local charity which brought children to the UK for a four week visit; this visit gave them relief from the radiation that they are exposed to in Belarus. Rachel continued her interest by studying at night school to learn Russian, and was therefore asked to help in translating for the charity whilst the children were visiting. She learnt from some of the adults which accompanied with the children that many would suffer from depression on returning to their normal lives in Belarus. After spending time where they could have a hot bath, play games and eat good food they would go home to a place with no running water, and where they have to work hard for intermittent meals. It must seem like a cruel contrast what children have over here to their own situation. Rachel decided to focus her attention and efforts on helping in Belarus. By helping people in their own country it would improve their lives for a sustained period of time, and also help boost their economy by spending the money raised in their country. Taking the next step: When Rachel returned from a visit to Belarus in September 2004, she decided that there was a need that could be addressed. The applications were filed to form a charity, which was officially registered in January 2005. Rachel remains as the chair of Bridges to Belarus but has managed to get a group of people together who are also enthusiastic to help the cause. Ian Steed, Treasurer, has a lot of experience of working within charitable organisations, including the British Red Cross. He is managing the finances with assistance from David Furley, a registered accountant. Mohan Ganesalingam was a founding member and now assists on specific projects. Please visit our Key People page for further information on the key volunteers of the charity. Reports
Following every visit that is made on behalf of Bridges to Belarus, a report is written. Our previous website had a report archive and many people have requested a similar facility to have access to our previous reports. Below are links to the reports from various years. Please click on the year/title to view the report. 2004 2005 Elective reports 2006: B2B and medical report - please note that the medical report contains medical details and may not be suitable for all readers. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
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