A FOSTER home funded by the people of Clonmel has enabled four siblings affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to continue to live together as a family.
Kolya Yerashok was seven when he first visited Clonmel in 1996. The Belarusian boy stayed with Anne and John Casey as part of a Chernobyl Children’s Project for children impacted by the 1986 nuclear accident in Ukraine.
It was the first time the Caseys had hosted a child. “We moved to a bigger house in the country,” said Anne Casey. “We had more space so we thought it would be nice to share it.”
Over the next 14 years, the Caseys welcomed more of the Yerashok children and between 2004 and 2006, five of the siblings, who came from a troubled family background, visited together for a month in the summer and three weeks at Christmas.
“It was like a cartoon show in our house,” said Johnny Casey. “We didn’t have Russian and they didn’t have that much English, but it was great fun.”
However when visiting Clonmel last June, 14-year-old Zina and her 13-year-old sister Liuda told the Caseys that when they returned to Russia, they and their younger sister Natalia were being split up and put into care while their two-year-old brother, Viktor, had already been put in an orphanage.
“We were devastated,” said Mr Casey.
“After 14 years, they were part of our family. Our youngest son calls them his cousins.”
Clonmel co-ordinator of Chernobyl Children’s Project International (CCPI) Carol Morrissey said: “There were a lot of tears when we heard the kids would be split up. After years coming to Clonmel, we had a fierce relationship with them.”
In a bid to keep the Yerashok children together, the town of Clonmel looked to raise funds to purchase a “Home of Hope”.
An alternative to institutional care, Homes of Hope are houses purchased by the charity where up to 10 children live with rigorously vetted foster parents.
CPPI chief executive, Adi Roche said: “Institutions are no substitute for care in a family – we didn’t want to encourage them to stay open by doing them up.”
Ms Roche said: “Our focus switched to breaking the cycle of institutionalisation and getting children into loving homes of their own.”
In a massive fundraising effort, the town of Clonmel raised €44,000 and the four youngest Yerashok children moved into their foster home last April.
“We’re just €5,000 short now to pay off the loan,” said Carol Morrissey.
“The girls are delighted to be reunited with their little brother,” Mr Casey said.
“It’s such a huge thing in their lives to be together.”
He said that the children, who will continue to visit the Caseys, recently sent them a message about their new house saying: “It’s like being at home in Clonmel.”
