Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120This past year has been the most extraordinary year for Chernobyl Children International (CCI) and it all began with The Ireland Fund of Monaco hon- oring Ali Hewson and I with the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award in October 2015. 26 April 2016 marked the 30th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster, the world’s worst nuclear disaster. There may be an impression that Chernobyl is something which happened a very long time ago and no longer poses a threat to the world but the reality of the situation is very, very different. Chernobyl is not something from the past, Cher- nobyl is forever. The impact of that single shocking nuclear accident can never be undone; its radioac- tive footprint is embedded in our world forever and countless millions of people are still being affected by its deadly legacy. We here at CCI make it our mission not to abandon these future generations. The 30th Anniversary year has been a deeply rewarding year for the organization, Ali and I were given honorary doctorates from the University of Limerick and we received the Alumni Award from the World of Children Organization in New York. Also, I have been awarded the Freedom of the City of my hometown of Cork. All of these awards are opportunities for us in CCI to highlight the children behind the work. These children are helpless and forgotten and many live isolated lives abandoned in children’s institutions across the effected countries of Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia. In this 30th Anniversary year of the 1986 nuclear disaster, with the eyes of the world fixed firmly on the role of Ireland in the provision of humani- tarian aid to the affected regions of Chernobyl, we are redoubling, recommitting and rededicating ourselves to some of Europe’s most deprived and helpless children. In April, I had the wonderful privilege of speak- ing in the General Assembly Chamber of the United Nations to deliver an unprecedented and historic address to the UN on the Anniversary of the Cher- nobyl. It was the first time an ordinary person, a non-diplomatic, non-political person, addressed the house of the UN. I gave the evidence of my heart to tell all present of the tragedy and suffering I have seen in the Chernobyl regions and to ask that we all relight the beacon of hope, in the heart of hope, to the UN to send a light out to the victims of Chernobyl, proclaiming loudly that you are not alone, you are not peripheral, we are your brothers and sisters, and we share in your suffering. We can all make a difference, no gift is too small, no help- ing hand unwanted. Our charity’s motto is ‘one by one and heartbeat by heartbeat’—these children will survive and thrive; but we must all have the courage to envision and create a better world. At the same time I spoke at the United Nations, an Ireland Funds cardiac ‘flying doctors’ mission to Kharkiv in Eastern Ukraine was finishing. Another 35 children’s lives were saved, training and development of local surgeons had taken place and medical equipment had been received all thanks to your generous grant. Behind the speeches and the awards are the children whose lives are saved because someone somewhere decided to listen, among the endless tragedies that plague the world someone hears the story of Chernobyl and thirty years later still cares. This year that organization is The Ireland Fund of Monaco. The grant that Chernobyl Children Inter- national has received from you has allowed us to put in place additional critical lifesaving missions to Ukraine to save the lives of children with congenital heart defects, who cannot live with their condition and will die without your intervention. The greatest award that we in CCI have received is the hope of knowing that people still care about the isolated, the marginalized and forgotten children of Chernobyl. Adi Roche speaks at the United Nations in April, 2016 Yaroslava (9 months) and Matvej (8 months) two of the 35 children that benefitted from The Ireland Fund of Monaco-funded “Fly- ing Doctors” mission to the Ukraine. Thank you Ireland Funds for still caring. 21 connect 2016 |