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2008 Arts Alive Banner created by Nastya Chernik, "Sea World" |
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2008 Arts Alive Banner created by Nastya Chernik, "Thoughts about Africa" |
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Sasha Aliseichik was the winning artist of 2005 at the age
of 15. She painted "Dreams," "My City," and
"Untitled Black and White" all of which have sold. Sasha
lives with her parents and her older sister. She has studied at
the Minsk Art School for 10 years. They say she began painting when
she was 3! The media she uses are gouache, water color, ink, &
acrylic. Besides painting, her hobbies are reading, playing the
guitar, and sports. She especially enjoy soccer, tennis, & volleyball.
As for her future, she's thinking of becoming an artist or a designer,
but she hasn't decided exactly yet.
read about all of the artists...
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Children of Chernobyl Foundation, San Diego, is looking
for volunteer families interested in hosting a Belarusian
child for a 5-week visit, from July 10 – August 15, 2008.
The children come from the contaminated region of Belarus,
about 1 hour north of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The children range in age from 8-14, and are healthy,
but impoverished. Travel expenses and health insurance
are covered by our organization.
If you enjoy cross-cultural experiences, and are interested
in meeting new people who share the common interest of
making a difference in children’s lives, please contact
us for more information.
Background checks and personal references are mandatory.
The children are Russian-speaking, with limited English.
Previous host families have found the language barrier
to be of minor significance. Chaperones and interpreters,
which are provided by the organization, are a phone call
away.
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2008 FLIGHT ITINERARY
The 2008 arrival and departure dates have been confirmed!
Arrival will be July 10, 2008 at 7:28pm, and departure will
be on August 15, 2008 at 7am. More detailed flight information
below...
 Arrival
— Thursday, July 10th
Delta Flight 89 leaves Kiev (KBP) at 10:50am, arrives in New York (JFK) at 2:05pm
Delta Flight 643 leaves New York (JFK) at 4:20pm, arrives in San Diego (SAN) at 7:28pm
 Departure
— Friday, August 15th
Delta Flight 98 leaves San Diego (SAN) at 7:00am, arrives in New York (JFK) at 3:17pm
Delta Flight 88 leaves New York (JFK) at 4:20pm, arrives in Kiev (KBP) at 9:05am on Saturday, August 16th
We're all very excited and eagerly awaiting the children's
arrival!
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For the 2nd year, the Children of Chernobyl Foundation
is participating in the Arts Alive Banner Contest, which
is organized by DEMA and Danny Salzhandler, the President
of the 101 Artists Colony. This year, one hundred one (101)
artists have painted original works of art on banners that
are currently installed on street lights along six miles
of the Coast Highway in downtown Encinitas, Cardiff, and
Leucadia. This is the ninth year the 101 Artists' Colony,
Cardiff 101, and the Downtown Encinitas Main Street Association
(DEMA) have presented this community art event, and we welcome
Leucadia to the event this year. Having originated in Encinitas,
the Arts Alive banner project has now spread to numerous
towns and cities throughout the country.
Children of Chernobyl Foundation’s 2007 winning artist,
Nastya Chernik, painted both of these banners during her
Christmas vacation in January. She is donating her artist’s
share of the proceeds from the banner sales to the Children
of Chernobyl Foundation. Her personal thoughts about each
banner subject reflect her compassion for the needy children
of her own country, as well as the rest of the world. Besides
Nastya, a number of local artists are also donating their
share of the banner proceeds to various charitable organizations,
including the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy and Community
Resource Center.
This year's "Arts Alive" Banner Unveiling was
held on Sunday, January 27, 2008 in the former Coast Dispatch
building on the Coast Highway in Encinitas. It was a huge
success, with well over 350 people in attendance, including
city council, city officials and staff, the banner artists,
and community leaders and supporters of the arts in Encinitas.
The event was hailed as "the last hurrah" for
the gray metal warehouse, which will be dismantled and moved
to Mexico to be used as a church, making way for a new development
at the site.
The Live Banner Auction (with auctioneer, Rich Houk) will
take place in the courtyard at Cardiff Towne Center, located
at the corner of San Elijo and Birmingham, at 2pm on Sunday
May 18, 2008.
A record number of silent bids were placed on the banners
at the Unveiling this year, and may continue to be made
while the banners hang on the Coast Highway until the Live
Auction in May. Contact DEMA at 760-943-1950 if you would
like to place a bid.
Our Arts Alive banners, one-of-a-kind pieces of original
fine art, demonstrate the scope of talented artists in our
community.
This year's participating artist, Nastya Chernik, has
donated 2 wonderful pieces (both shown left), "Sea
World" and "Thoughts about Africa."
Nastya explains, "Our planet's plants, animals and fish
are endangered by pollution. Near Belarus, which is contaminated
by radioactivity, children suffer from diseases and compromised
immune systems. That is why I've participated in the Arts
Alive program: to help the Children of Chernobyl Foundation
of San Diego raise money to bring kids from Chernobyl to
the USA for summer respite visits." The artist's share the
proceeds will go to Children of Chernobyl Foundation.
Nastya is the winner of last year's Children of Chernobyl
Foundation's group art competition. Born in Belarus (Minsk)
in 1989, she like to work with pastel, acrylic, water color,
and gouache, and is a 3rd year student in the art college
in Minsk, Nastya says, "From TV programs and newspaper articles,
I know about huge problems African countries are facing:
AIDS, famine, and shortage of water." The artist's share
of proceeds will go to the Children of Chernobyl Foundation.
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NEW - Permanent Artwork Venue Announcement
Children of Chernobyl is pleased to anounce its recent
partnership with the Hasenstab and Associates Law Firm,
who has generously donated their spacious new downtown office
to exhibit the Belarusian students' artwork. Approximately
35-40 paintings, of varying media and themes, will be on
permanent display at 1230 Columbia Street, Suite 1120 (map).
Sales of paintings goes towards bringing needy children
from the contaminated Chernobyl region to San Diego for
summer respite vacations.
Visits to the law office to view the paintings will be
by appointment only. Please call 619 814-3790 and ask for
Heather, if you are interested. Meanwhile, many of the paintings
will continue to be exhibited at various venues in San Diego
country throughout the year.
| Children of Chernobyl Art Sales |
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Sponsor a child — It costs
$1,650 to bring a single child over for the Summer. It is
as a result of your tax deductible donation that many deserving
kids will be able to come to San Diego to rest and to receive
much needed medical attention. Please contact
us for more details.
Be a host-family — Your warm generosity as
a host-family for a visiting child from Belarus would provide
a boost to the health and spirits of not only the child,
but also to their family, friends and community who worked
hard to get their young one into our respite program. To
become a host family, please complete the Host
Family Application. For more information, please visit
our Host Family Guide.
AND THERE ARE MORE WAYS TO HELP
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 Chernobyl reactor No. 4 after the accident showing the extensive damage to the main reactor hall (Photo credit unknown)
Although
the Chernobyl disaster does not currently occupy the headlines
as it did when the nuclear reactor exploded in the Soviet
Ukraine on April 26, 1986, the aftermath of this catastrophe
continues to have devastating effects on the people living
in Ukraine and Belarus. Contaminated soil and waterways have
contributed to poor nutrition and weakened immune systems
in people living in the areas around Chernobyl, especially
the children. One of the most predominant physical effects
of the Chernobyl radiation on children is the profound increase
(over 100%) in Thyroid Cancer, a disease rarely found amongst
children elsewhere in the world. The corrupt political regime,
poor economy, and compromised state of medical and dental
facilities add to feelings of depression and despair amongst
the people living in this region. The current economic situation
of the region makes it nearly impossible for these people
to relocate.
Read more about our
program...
Learn about becoming a host
family...
View the children's artwork for sale...
Help support our sponsors...
Children of Chernobyl Foundation, San Diego, is one of many world-wide Children of Chernobyl
organizations who are committed to helping the young victims who continue to suffer from the
effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. In 2007, 38,000 children from the Chernobyl
region were removed from their environment to go abroad for summer respite vacations.
Participating countries include Western Europe, the UK, Canada, Japan, Israel, and many
cities within the USA. Get
more information about the numerous domestic and international
organizations who are making a difference in the lives of
these children... |
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The film “Chernobyl Heart” won the 2004
Oscar for Best Documentary. This documentary moved many of
us by putting faces to a tragedy that we thought of as “in
the past.” Here is a brief update on one of the “Chernobyl
Heart” kids...
 The
boy with the terrible skin condition on his hands and feet...
is named Sasha Nesterenko. Sasha, aged 13 when he was filmed
(although he looks much younger), suffered terribly from
severe malnutrition, and a severely compromised immune system
which complicated a rare, contageous skin condition called
"Norwegian Encrusted Scabies." We brought him
to Tralee General Hospital in Ireland, where he was treated
successfully, and was returned to his home in the Vesnova
asylum. His health is closely monitored by our nurses, who
are trained, supervised, and paid by CCPI. He is doing great.
You can read more about our work at the Vesnova asylum.
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