Chernobyl Children Project FAQs

What is the Chernobyl Children Project?

Each year since 1997 over one hundred children from the Chernobyl area have been hosted by Boston area families. This Boston-area program is administered by a non-profit organization that provides respite and relief to Belarussian and Russian children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. See the Project website for more details about the project.

What does the project need translated?

Medical records. The Project sends each child back with a fully translated packet of medical records so that medical staff back home know what care the child has received in the States and what else is required. There will be more than 100 children with a minimum of 3 pages each from their initial evaluation at the medical evaluation and primary care clinics the Project holds. Several children will have 5 to 10 pages of medical records.

What do the documents look like?

We have scanned in a sample record and converted it to PDF files. Pages 2 and 3 are the diagnosis in English; pages 4 and 5 are a translation into Russian; page 6 is the doctor's handwritten notes for the child's medical history; pages 7, 8, and 9 are a lab report. What about page 1? These are 8 pages of a 9-page fax, so page 1 was the cover page. As you will see, we blacked out the names and other identifying features for the patient and doctor to protect their privacy. However, when you translate the documents, you will be working directly with medical records including personal details of the children.

When will these materials be ready for translation?

The children usually arrive in Boston sometime in the last 10 days of June and leave in the last week of July. The lion’s share of translation will be needed from the beginning of July onward.

Do I need to come to Boston?

No, we will coordinate the translation effort via e-mail and telephone.

How will I receive the documents to be translated?

Some medical records are available as rich text files and PDFs. Others have to be scanned into an image and sent to you as an e-mail attachment. Unfortunately, the original documents are not entered onto a computer so we have to scan the records.

Who benefits from the translation?

The children whose records you will translate. The project is totally funded by contributions of time, money, and other resources from corporations, individuals, and institutions. The only person who gets paid is the executive director; this is a full-time job for her. She is responsible for fund raising, day-to-day operations, selecting sponsors, working with other groups, and so on.

Will anyone make any money on my translation?

No. No one receives any payment for the translations, so you will be able to write this off as a charitable contribution.

How else can I help?

The Project works with volunteers in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine to translate the children’s records into English. If you would like to work on that end of the project before June, please e-mail Don.

If I have any more questions, where can I get more information?

Don DePalma is a volunteer who is helping with some aspects of the translation effort. You can e-mail him or call him at +1.978.256.7621. Patty Doyle is the executive director, +1.781.251.0137 or e-mail Patty. We invite you to look around the Project website for more information about the project.

Thank you. We really appreciate your contribution of time.