The Chernobyl Children’s Project International is to receive a funding boost in the region of €600,000, the Government announced today.
The money will be used to support the development of day care centres which will provide medical and social services for rural populations in Belarus.
The grant is part of an overall allocation of €1.75 million, over the next three years, for projects and programmes in the Balkans and Commonwealth of Independent States.
Making the announcement Minister of State for Overseas Development Michael Kitt said he was "very pleased" to help address the needs of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Belarus.
"The Belarusian population has suffered disproportionately from the economic and social consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which has served to increase the vulnerability of the poorest," Mr Kitt added.
The funding is drawn from the Partnership Programme for Europe and Central Asia in Irish Aid.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs other organisations due to receive funding include: the Danish Refugee Council (to assist displaced peoples in Chechnya); Delta for the Balkans (to promote inter-ethnic dialogue in schools in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); KFOR (for the refurbishment of school and sports facilities in Kosovo); Save the Children (for its work on inclusive education in South East Europe); the Centre for Democracy and Reconciliation in South East Europe (CDRSEE) (for teacher training in Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia); OSCE (for strengthening of the electoral system in Ukraine), Transparency International (for monitoring reform in Georgia) and the Stability Pact for South East Europe (for its work to foster trade and investment in the region).
