The town of Gorodishche hasn’t changed much since our last visit, but why would it I ask myself!  Some of the older houses that line our walking route in and out of the Orphanage each day, are affectionately known as “the Jewish houses”.  These fragile wooden structures housed the town’s Jewish community in the early 1900s.  Not a lot has changed to these dwellings since this time, most have running water but there are few (if any) that have heating beyond a central fire/burner of some kind.  In the cold of winter (and it hasn’t reached its coldest yet) these must be difficult to warm, and I guess there is a lot of illness brought about as a result of the cold and dampness associated with living in such conditions (the book Angela’s Ashes comes to mind).  Each house is a semi-detached unit, the front one faces the road and the other one behind this (I always thought they were single, detached dwellings).  

On one of the mornings, I observe an older gentleman sitting on a rough-made bench outside his house.  It’s -5c here, and he sits outside in the ice and snow (I can’t help but wonder if it might be warmer than inside!).

We arrived, tired and emotional, on Wednesday afternoon at Gorodishche after our 18-hour journey from Shannon.  We had known for some time that there was to be a big party on the day of our arrival (and no, it wasn’t just for us!).  It was the official start of the Christmas season and there were dignitaries from local and national government in attendance.  We were to “arrive quietly” as we were likely to create a scene – it’s always like that when the Irish are in town!  We were to discover that Iryna Kostevich (Minister for Labour and Social Protection) was in attendance, she asked to meet with us after the formal meetings (and madness) were over.  She thanked the Irish for all that we have done and explained that the policy of the Belarusian Government was to move away from supporting institutions like Gorodishche and to have young people supported in their homes (incentivising families to keep their children out of the orphanages).

And speaking of parties (nice segway if I might say so myself!).  We knew there were two really big parties to celebrate during our visit (Tanya’s 22nd can wait for a while).  Our angel of Gorodishche, Iryna, was to turn 70 and we planned to celebrate this in style.  Why have one birthday party when you have 2 or 3 seems to be the motto in our house, and we decided that this would be appropriate for Iryna also.

She hates a fuss being made about her, yet she does this for everyone else in the Orphanage.  There was a plan that she would stay with us on the night of her birthday, and for many other nights too (giving us a chance to really get to know the woman that we’ve “known” for years).

But we were not the only ones who wanted to make a big deal of the birthday girl, we marked her big occasion with many other people that Iryna is close to in the Orphanage, people that she has worked with for many years.  Nina and Galya would be two of her closest friends, each was intent on keeping the party going for as long as we were in Belarus – challenge accepted 😊.  I had forgotten the local method of toasting, not once or twice but three times – I certainly won’t forget that in a hurry.  We made as much fuss as we could, as often as we could, to celebrate this wonderful lady.  С Днем Рождения Ирина

Ever since we were involved in a car accident back in 2009, Joanne has been a great believer in Guardian Angels being amongst us, and the trip to Belarus once again confirmed that “there might be something in that!”.

In theory, this was going to be a reasonably straightforward journey (especially as it started off at Shannon Airport).  We had a very tight bus connection in Lithuania, but then it was a clear run (no changes) to Minsk.  The instructions from Liam and Seán were simple – just follow everyone else on the bus and you’ll be fine.  Great in theory, but as the bus slowly made its way to the borders some nervousness crept in.  There were many announcements (in Russian) as we neared the Lithuanian border, an attempt to do a Google Translate just added to the anxiety!  Both Joanne and I noticed a girl that frequently got off the bus as it slowly moved from the Lithuanian to the Belarusian border (that short 2 miles took over 5 hours to navigate!).

Being invited to the staff Christmas party probably helped us to feel at home.  A fantastic night that coincided with Iryna’s actual birthday – a big celebration for all.

And what a party, more than six hours of eating, drinking, dancing, party games, and a visit from Father Frost (and his Snow Maiden).  There was one up/downside – I was 1 of 2 men amongst the 31 guests on the night (he left after an hour or so leaving me as “blessed amongst women”).  And a new tradition that I discover; if there is a man at the table then he must pour the drink for all the ladies – a full-time job over a six-hour period!

In Belarus (unlike here in Ireland), you will never drink without eating.  There’s no “rush to finish the dinner to go on the lash”, copious amounts of food ensure that drinking is the secondary priority – in reality, it might be third after dancing.

There are many other lovely moments with the staff, not least of which is our last birthday party for Iryna (I think I lost count of the number we celebrated during our time there).  On our final evening, once all were retired and relaxed for the night (as if that ever happened), we met with some friends – new and old – to enjoy some local cuisine (pancakes with home-made jam, pancakes with cabbage and mushrooms [especially for the vegetarian], pickles and sweet home-grown apples.

A fantastic spread, with fantastic friends, washed down with a toast (or three) to “life”, “health”, and “friends”.

It would be odd to write of my visit without talking about “our girl” Tanya.  Our visit coincided with her 22nd birthday – that was no accident!  We see Tanya regularly during our visit (almost every day), making a big deal of her on the day of her birthday.

Tanya is as pretty as ever, and her form is very good.  But her movement is not quite as good as it had been, and her bones seem to be more rigid and deformed (it has been three years!).  She struggles to move about, remember she’s a crawler when she’s not in a wheelchair, and we know that she is in pain as she pulls herself around the Group 4 rooms.

But on a positive note, it is her birthday!

We decided that the best place to hold the party will be with all of her friends in her Group (we had her 18th party in the hall with lots of other groups).  We brought as many as could be managed into the dining area and filled them all with – no apologies here – pure rubbish (sweets, cake, biscuits, and fizzy drinks).  The guitar is taken out and we have a good old singsong, songs old and new are sung (and sometimes roared – there are some that enjoy that kind of “singing” in this group).