Country Destination: Belarus

Country Destination: Belarus

Belarus lies in Eastern Europe, a former Soviet Union enclave with a significant disparity of income between urban and rural areas. Many people in rural areas earn under £25 per month. Twenty years on from the Chernobyl disaster in neighbouring Ukraine, radiation contamination still affects children and their parents with high incidences of thyroid cancer and leukaemia.

Shoeboxes are sent by truck  to Belarus and take around 5 days to get to the capital Minsk, where they are distributed by our in-country partners to children across Belarus. This year, we sent 259,170 shoeboxes from the UK to Belarus.

Below is a story from a previous year’s distribution to Belarus…

Alex’s story

13-year old Alex received a shoebox during an OCC event run by the local Tekhteen Church. He had been going to the Sunday School there for the past two years and was thrilled to receive his shoebox. He was even happy to share the toys with his brother and sister.

But his story is a sad one. He is ‘the oldest man in the family’ as his father is absent and he must also take care of his mother, who doesn’t work but spends her state benefits for the family on drink. She is heavily in debt and is often begging to the neighbours for food and clothes for her children.

Gifts and sweets are rare in the family home, so the OCC shoebox provided a welcome change – probably the first gift Alex had received for many years. Despite the heavy burden of responsibility, Alex is an active, cheerful and responsive boy, with his eyes revealing his hopes for the future.

Our work in Belarus

Samaritan’s Purse doesn’t just send shoeboxes to Belarus. As well as being the main destination for our short-term Discovery Teams, we have previously supported orphanages in Minsk and are training up local churches to reach out to people most in need within the city – people living with HIV and AIDS, orphans and widows. (Download a project information sheet to find out more)

If you would like to make a Christmas gift towards our work in Belarus and other parts of Eastern Europe, please click here.