BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

12/04/2006

Cash will buy a better life

By Lyndsay Scanlan

A FAMILY raising money to save the life of a Belarussian child suffering from skin cancer have been told she can be treated in Minsk in a hospital that specialises in cancer care.

Kristina Ezhenkova, nine, who is staying with the McGiffin family in Haydon Wick, is not eligible for life-saving treatment in England.

But the Belarus health minister has agreed she can be treated in Minsk.

Now the family, who had been raising money to cover her healthcare costs, still need help from people in the town.

They want to raise as much money as possible so Kristina's mother can travel to Minsk for her treatment.

They also want to buy the family a cow so they have milk and cheese. And they want to give them beds, bedding and warm clothes that they have no way of buying themselves.

As previously reported Kristina and her friend Nastya Zhuk, also nine, have been in Swindon for two weeks with the McGiffins as part of a project organised by the charity Chernobyl Children Life Line.

Both come from the poverty-stricken Gomel region blighted by radiation from the Chernobyl disaster 20 years ago.

The NHS will not fund Kristina's treatment because Belarus is not part of the European Union, although the family had thought she would be treated here.

But they have just found out she will travel home on Sunday for her operation.

"The Russians have more experience in dealing with cancer and radiation problems," said Virginia McGiffin, 32.

"Because she is from one of the poorest families in the region we still want to raise money for Kristina towards her stay in hospital and to pay for her mum to travel to be with her."

So far thanks to the generosity of people following our story, the McGiffins have collected ?1,000.

And Matalan gave the girls a chance to shop till they dropped for free so they could stock up on a new wardrobe.

Mrs McGiffin, who is married to Justin, 32, said: "I am so grateful to everyone who has donated money so far, including Matalan. It's been a real shock at how much support we have had.

"But we are asking for more people to donate money because we need as much as possible to give her the best possible chance of life when she returns home."

Anyone who wants to help can send donations to Chernobyl Children Life Line treasurer Andrea Hillier at 1 Bridge Court, Westbury, BA13 3FB, or to Virginia McGiffin, 28 Cloverlands, Haydon Wick, Swindon SN25 1RW. All cheques should be made payable to the Chernobyl Children Life Line.

Source:

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.730385.0.cash_will_buy_a_better_life.php

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