Igor reunited with his Mayo family

FROM BELARUS WITH LOVE ?Dermot and Marie Cox from Snugboro, Castlebar, were delighted to be reunited with Igor Shatikov, at Dublin Airport last Friday. ?Pic: Jason Clarke Photography.

Igor reunited with his Mayo family


Chernobyl Children flown to Ireland, away from radiation and forest fires

Ciara Moynihan

A very special group of 30 youngsters from Belarus landed at Dublin Airport last Friday, June 26. They arrived as part of Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children International’s mission to airlift children out of the toxic region and away from lethal forest fires for respite care in Ireland this summer.
Among them was Igor Shatikov (14), to be reunited with his Mayo family, Marie and Dermot Cox and their four sons in Snugboro, Castlebar. A confident, talkative, loving and playful boy, he has been visiting the Cox family twice yearly since 2007.
Igor was abandoned to an orphanage as a baby and has suffered huge physical impairment all his life. When Chernobyl Children International (CCI) first found him, his social skills were woefully undeveloped. He had been just left to crawl around on the floor, where his food was also left. He could not communicate verbally at all.
CCI intervened by giving him the attention and loving care he needed and mobility through a specially adapted wheelchair. Marie, a nurse, first met Igor when she was volunteering with CCI in Belarus. Her family’s bond with the boy was first forged seven years ago when he stayed with them during a visit to Ireland for emergency treatment to save one of his legs.  
Last January, Marie told The Mayo News that since his stays with her family started, Igor’s speech had developed to such an extent that he has learned many English phrases – in fact, this fun-loving boy is ‘a real chatterbox’. “He really can communicate very well with us … he’s really come on,” she said with pride, adding that he is part of their family now.

Broken leg
The Cox family were upset to learn that Igor had broken his leg two weeks ago, placing his trip ‘home’ to Ireland in jeopardy. After an anxious wait, he was cleared for travel by Belarusian doctors, much to the relief of the Cox family, who eagerly look forward to his visits.
For Marie, Igor’s visits bring deep joy. “Just to see his face when he arrives at the airport … seeing him talking to one of my sons with such a big smile on his face – I mean, that’s worth its weight in gold.”
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday, Marie explained that they are not sure how he broke his leg. “It’s a bit of a worry,” she admitted. The family plans to bring Igor to Mayo General Hospital for a check-up and to ensure his leg is healing as it should.
Happily, the injury has not affected Igor’s boundless enthusiasm for life with the Coxes. “He’s in great form … he’s not in pain. He was up for 24 hours when he arrived, and he would have stayed up longer, not a bother on him!
“He took the weekend, just chilled around the house with his own little bits he has here … he loves the music and that, and we make sure that everything is there, waiting for him.”
Igor himself is delighted to be back with the Cox family, and excited to be here in Mayo. “The first thing he said to Dermot on Saturday morning was ‘Plane is gone, no plane!’ – so he’s quite happy to stay where he is. The boys are absolutely thrilled to have him back too – the noise level in the house has gone right up!” Marie laughs. “It’s great!”

Vital respite
The summer Rest and Recuperation Programme gives the Belarusian children, who come from impoverished backgrounds and state-run institutions, a health-boosting reprieve from the high levels of radiation to which they are exposed since the explosion at Chernobyl 30 years ago. The risks of that radiation have been made worse by raging summer forest fires, which are at their peak at this time of year.
“It is wonderful to see the excitement on the children’s faces as they arrive safe and happy into Dublin,” said Voluntary CEO of CCI Adi Roche. “Radiation knows no boundaries but we feel privileged to be able to give these children some relief, love and ‘breathing space’ at this time of year.”
Since 1991, nearly 25,000 children from Belarus – the country most affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster – have come to Ireland with CCI on this Rest and Recuperation programme.
Igor and the other children, who are staying with families in Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny and Limerick, will be in Ireland for a month. During that time, the radiation levels in their bodies will drop by almost 50 percent, adding up to two years to their life expectancy.

MORE For more information on Chernobyl Children International, or to make a donation, visit www.chernobyl-international.com or call 021 4558774.