In October 2005, Infant Massage USA Trainer Suzanne Reese traveled to Belarus as part of the Chernobyl Children’s Project International (CCPI). April 2006 will mark 20 years since the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Northern Ukraine exploded and radioactive material blew, by way of the wind, into Belarus. Today, Belarus is 99% contaminated.

 The effects on many of the children have been devastating. Suzanne traveled to a children’s asylum and recounts the tour of the eight units during the first orientation round: “I felt like a pot of honey for bees as children clung to every limb. There is the child who looks at me at cries “Maaaaammmaaa!” over and over again, clutching to my shirt. Do I look like the Mother who left him behind? Or because I’m a woman, do I merely represent the image of a mother to any child there? I’ll never forget his tears and face of anguish – was my confusion over what was happening was some sort of betrayal to his plea for attention?” She recalls the children who sat rocking back and forth, children who sat on the floor, because they could not stand, and those who would scoot and slide to greet their visitors.

 Most of Suzanne’s time was spent in “Unit 5” - the High Dependency Unit with the most ill of kids and usually the youngest of kids. “We were alerted to the trend that each volunteer seems to develop an attachment to one child in particular,” explains Suzanne. And she was no exception. “Maxim became “my guy”, she says. Although nearly 6 years old, he looked about 3, relates Suzanne. He was “emaciated, without movement and near death” she recalls. Abandoned at birth, Maxim cannot speak and does not cry; instead, he wails. “Maxim doesn’t really look at people, but that week, we often caught one another’s gaze, and I could not been happier,” recalls Suzanne. “I wonder if he ever thought about the funny lady who smiles, sings and cries all at the same time.”

 Suzanne worked with Maxim each day, wiping his hands and face with baby wipes. Seeing his wailing response to the nurses who wiped him, Suzanne realized he might have touch sensitivities. “I tried holding the wipe in my hand for a while, warming it up and started slow. First, using resting hands without the wipe, talking to him, telling him how beautiful he is, and that’s why the flies visit him at night,” she says. Using a warmed wipe (what a concept!), Suzanne was able to quiet Maxim, helping him fall asleep  contentedly. “Every day I held Maxim for hours,” says Suzanne. She learned about his responses -- that he is easily startled – and how to hold him so his bedsore didn’t hurt any more than it would have to. She sang to him, rocked him gently, walked with him and took him to the sunroom everyday, and fed him.

 And the outcome of all this loving attention? “The important thing to note is that in one week, change occurred,” notes Suzanne.  His bedsore is healed and he is surviving.

 The impact extended to many of the children, notes Suzanne. Where many weren’t eating well, they have since eaten and have since gained weight. Children who made no eye contact shared gazes. Children who previously exhibited challenges with socialization and sensory stimulation were being held, rocked and even massaged! Families and caregivers, at the end of their ropes of hope, learned how to use nurturing touch to help their children survive…and thrive. All of this, in one week.

 The experience has left an indelible mark on Suzanne, who feels she has gained much more than she has given during the trip. Despite initial uncertainty about going to Belarus, Reese says she do it again in a heartbeat. And she is. Suzanne will be joining the CCPI Irish Medical Team on Feb 23 and returning to
Belarus to continue her work guiding families and caregivers to help the children thrive in their respective environments.

 “I am told the children are so fortunate to have had me there, how brave am I to have gone to this unknown region out in the middle of nowhere to visit a group of children that nobody knows and few care about. I think: "According to western standards, I suppose it is brave. This is one week out of my life.  The children are the brave ones.” 

 For more information on the Chernobyl Children's Project International, visit: http://www.ccp-intl.org/.