Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund schedules 18th humanitarian airlift (03/09/97)

Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund schedules 18th humanitarian airlift

SHORT HILLS, N.J. - To help alleviate suffering during one of the harshest winters on record in Eastern Europe, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF) is launching a major airlift of medical equipment and hospital supplies to key hospitals in Ukraine.

The relief mission is partially funded by a major grant from the Monsanto Co., with additional support from Americares, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and a broad-based coalition of environmental and community organizations.

The airlift is scheduled to depart Newark International Airport on Monday, March 10, with humanitarian cargo valued at more than $1.7 million. The cargo, weighing over 41 tons is being transported to Newark International by six tractor trailer trucks and will be loaded aboard an Ilyushin (IL-76TD) military cargo plane provided by the Ukrainian government. A press conference will be held at Newark Airport at 1:30 p.m. on March 10, prior to the departure of the aircraft.

The airlift is the culmination of an intensive yearlong campaign commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. Throughout the past year, grassroots and environmental organizations, churches and schools have been raising funds and collecting supplies to ease the suffering of the Chornobyl victims in Ukraine.

Since 1989 the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund has delivered more than 1,000 tons of medical aid to Ukraine, valued at over $41 million. This is the 18th airlift staged by the CCRF, the leading non-governmental agency providing medical aid to Ukraine.

One of the largest financial contributors to this airlift was the Monsanto Co., which has invested heavily in agricultural projects in southern and eastern Ukraine. Last April, Monsanto and the CCRF launched a joint project, The Women's and Children's Health Initiative, designed to improve prenatal care and to sharply reduce infant mortality in three of the largest and most heavily polluted provinces of Ukraine.

With support from Monsanto, the CCRF has succeeded in obtaining a state-of-the-art AirShields Intensive Care System for the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Children's Hospital No. 3, complete with transport and stationary incubator, ventilators, pulse oximeters, and a computer bank for patient tracking and pharmaceutical data.

Monsanto is also supporting training programs for Ukrainian doctors who specialize in obstetrics, perinatology and neonatolgy. A team of three neonatal specialists from Dnipropetrovsk is scheduled to come to New Jersey under CCRF's auspices for an intensive six-week training program in April. The CCRF and Monsanto plan to implement a similar program for regional hospitals in Vinnytsia and Luhansk later this year.

Among the other noteworthy contributors to this airlift is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., based in South Bound Brook, N.J. Under the leadership of Archbishop Antony, the UOC-U.S.A. hosted a solemn fund-raising dinner last February that featured Academy Award-winning actor Jack Palance, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Anatolii Zlenko and other dignitaries.

The funds raised at the dinner and during the ensuing drive by local parishes led to the procurement of medications and technology valued at well over $258,000. The largest contributor to this campaign was the parish of St. Volodymyr's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, which raised over $20,000 for the purchase of two Ohmeda neonatal incubators.

Most of the funds raised through this campaign were designated for the Chernihiv Regional Children's Hospital, which will receive new neonatal incubators, respirators, cardiac monitors, intravenous tubing and other critical care equipment.

Located approximately 60 miles east of Chornobyl, the city of Chernihiv was in the direct path of the radioactive cloud and received a heavy dose of radiation from the disaster. The CCRF is working to reduce infant mortality and to strengthen the city's ability to treat newborns for various complications. The remainder of the contributions collected at the February 4 dinner in South Bound Brook were used to secure $155,000 worth of life-saving antibiotics and basic medications which were distributed to hospitals in Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv.

For more information about the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, readers are urged to write to: CCRF, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078; or call (201) 376-5140.

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