Aleksei Talai on health recuperation program for children from Donbass

Aleksei Talai, a public figure, Paralympian and motivational coach, founder of the Aleksei Talai Charitable Foundation, talked about the health recuperation program for children from Donbass in Belarus at a briefing for the press in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Aleksei Talai said that he has been engaged in charity for a long time, even before the charitable foundation was set up. In this regard, he recalled the events of 2014, a coup d'état in Ukraine and the hostilities and civil war in Donbass that followed. He realized that people needed help. More so, he began to get information from people, primarily parents.

"It was hard to watch all this. My story started to come back in my mind [Aleksei Talai tripped on a German land mine, a relic of World War II, as a child, lost his legs and arms]. But that was the reality and something had to be done about it," he said.

Since the program was launched the Aleksei Talai Charitable Foundation has hosted groups of children from the DPR, LPR and Zaporozhye region in Belarus for health recuperation. "As a person with disabilities, as a simple disabled person, I wanted to focus on children with disabilities, children who were injured in hostilities and shelling," he explained.

Aleksei Talai recalled the boy Ivan and his story. The boy's younger brother was killed on the spot during shelling and he himself was injured, losing his arms and legs. The child's face was badly injured too. After a while, Aleksei met with Ivan's mother in Moscow as she insisted on a personal meeting with him. He considered it his duty to convey the boy a message that all was not lost and that he could have a happy life.

"It was very hard to look at these guys. Both in the Donetsk People's Republic where I went on a business trip on my own in 2021, and then, when we launched the program in Belarus. It is very difficult to talk to and hear their stories: some of them had their parents killed in front of their eyes," Aleksei Talai said, adding that the children needed rehabilitation.

The first group came from the DPR in September 2021. Those were nine children with disabilities, accompanied by seven adults, parents or authorized persons who had a notarized power of attorney for this. They had all the necessary documents drawn up, the Paralympian noted. The children underwent medical rehabilitation at the National Children's Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation, and then left by bus (they arrived by bus too).

Then, thanks to friendly relations with the national children's education and recreation center Zubrenok, the foundation was able to bring a fairly large group of physically healthy children. When the word of mouth spread that Belarus hosts children from the DPR for health recuperation, the foundation received more requests to host physically healthy children. "Of course, we could not refuse, and together with Zubrenok we were able to do it," Aleksei Talai said, adding that a fairly large group of more than 100 people holidayed in Zubrenok from September to October 2021.

Work on the rehabilitation of disabled children continued. There were many such children from Donbass who either became disabled due to the recent hostilities in the country, or were born with disabilities. “We welcomed everyone who needed this help in the first place,” the Paralympian emphasized.

In 2022, 14 children, accompanied by 10 adults from the DPR (all documents were properly executed), underwent rehabilitation at the National Children's Hospital For Medical Rehabilitation. The group came and left by bus.

“The program was gradually gaining momentum. This was my personal responsibility. Our charitable foundation and I, as its director, were in charge of this health recuperation program for children from Donbass. We were working very carefully. Every detail of our work was scrutinized. We did everything for these children to be able to come here, receive support and help and return to their families. No matter how good it can be abroad, our heart still longs home where we live, where we used to run barefoot in our childhood. Those children were also homesick, no matter how difficult thing were at their home. This is their land, and their parents and grandparents were waiting for them there,” Aleksei Talai said.

Later, in June 2022, the next group of 28 children came for rehabilitation to Belarus. A large group of 888 children came here in October 2022. The group was accompanied by 125 adults, parents or accompanying persons with all necessary notarized documents. Three shifts were organized for them at the children's health camp Dubrava in Soligorsk District. The group came and left by train.

The children from Donbass also enjoyed recuperation in the Belarusian regions. “We are very proud that the local authorities decided to follow this initiative. We are indeed one family,” the Paralympic athlete said. For example, 43 children, accompanied by adults, had recuperation holidays in Novopolotsk in December-January 2023. There was also a group from Gorlovka that was hosted by the Zelenyi Bor health center in Minsk Oblast.

Despite the fact that summer holidays are in full swing in Belarus, the charitable foundation is determined to find resources to host children from the most shelled regions, including Gorlovka.

“We, as citizens of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, are doing everything possible, as it has been for decades, to help those children in Belarus. Today this help comes through the charitable foundation of the Belarusian Paralympian who knows what mine-explosive wounds through a personal experience. I could not do otherwise. Today, many tens and thousands of Belarusian people have contributed to this project. They find our charitable foundation, its website, find an opportunity to support the rehabilitation of Donbass children in Belarus,” Aleksei Talai said.

According to him, Belarus understands that only together can we stand in this difficult time. It is good that the government, charitable and public organizations rallied together.

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