Children of Chernobyl at Recreation and Rehabilitation Center in Belarus

The Children’s Rehabilitation and Recreation Centre Nadeshda was founded in Belarus in 1984 by several German and Belarussian NGOs with the support of the ministry for emergency situations of Belarus. Situated in a marvelous forest near the lake some 80 km north of Minsk, it hosts about 4600 children coming from the areas contaminated after the Chernobyl disaster – mainly Gomel and Mogilev regions. The location has the lowest natural level of background radiation in Belarus: 4.6 μR/h. While the Belarussian government is building a new nuclear reactor in Ostrovets, some 80 kilometers away from here, Nadeshda is switching to 100% renewable energy. The centre installs PV-system producing yearly 600 kW/h, enough to cover the centre’s needs. Nadeshda has the most powerful solar collector system in Belarus – installed capacity 91.5 kW. All the buildings are energy efficient and heating is based on renewable and alternative sources.