Medicaid to kids with heart diseases”. Who is to receive aid during “Our Children” campaign?
The first ever "Our Children" campaign took place in 1995 on the Ministry of Education initiative. It became a major national event supported by the Head of State. This year, the campaign will be held for the 29th time. The event is gaining momentum every year, involving more and more children. Few people know that the main winter campaign has actually began in the spring, when on April 19, 1995, the Presidential Decree "On Approval of the National Action Plan for the Protection of Children's Rights for 1995-2000" was adopted. It provided for holding the "Our Children" charity campaigns and the Republican New Year's Ball. Viktor Dovnar, Head of the Main Department for Educational Work and Youth Policy of the Ministry of Education, told a BELTA correspondent about the peculiarities of this year's celebration.
The New Year's charity campaign "Our Children" kicks off December 16, 2024 and ends January 15, 2025. "Senior government officials, heads of republican government bodies, heads of state and other organizations as well as public associations are scheduled to visit more than 130 institutions, including children's boarding schools, healthcare organizations, centers for correctional and developmental education and rehabilitation, educational establishments, family-type children's homes. The campaign allows us to draw attention to the problems of childhood, provide assistance and support to the least protected categories of children who need special care and attention from the state and society, as well as those who have achieved high results in their studies, social, sports, and cultural activities. The main goal of the campaign is to meet every child so that everyone feels the holiday. Therefore, the campaign traditionally lasts a month," said Viktor Dovnar.
In addition, as part of the campaign, the Belarusian Children's Fund will hold a marathon to raise funds for the provision of medical care to children with heart disease. Therefore, those voluntary donations and transfers that come from people, enterprises, organizations, and public associations will go to the treatment of sick children with cardiovascular diseases.
"For the second year in a row, the campaign will start in a non-traditional way, in a new format. This year, Vitebsk oblast will take up the baton. The grand opening of the campaign will take place on December 16 in Vitebsk. A teleconference will connect all the sites that will be organized in each region. Children from all over the country will see the start and will be able to greet the Vitebsk oblast. Information about where the opening of the "Our Children" campaign will take place in each region is posted on the websites of the regional executive committees. In Minsk, the start will be given at the site of the Minsk State Palace of Children and Youth," the representative of the Ministry of Education informed.
Traditionally, the central event of the campaign will be a charity New Year's party at the Palace of the Republic. Almost 2.4 thousand children aged 8-14 from all regions of Belarus were invited to the main Christmas tree party of the country. The delegations include orphans and children left without parental care, children raised in foster and adoptive families, students of cadet schools, children from refugee families, students - winners of international, republican and regional Olympiads, creative competitions, festivals, sports competitions, as well as students who have achieved success in public work.
A significant event of the campaign will be the New Year's ball for young people in the Palace of Independence. More than 300 students of educational institutions have been invited and these are schoolchildren, college students, and university students. Traditionally, other New Year's events will be held in the Palace of Independence. Children's delegations from Russia, Latvia and Lithuania will also take part in the festivities that will take place in the Palace of the Republic and the Palace of Independence.
"I would like to note the active participation of student youth in the "Our Children" campaign, primarily volunteers from the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Mogilev, Gomel, Brest, Mozyr Pedagogical Universities and other educational institutions. The children not only assist the organizers in holding festive events as part of the "Our Children" campaign, but also visit children in healthcare institutions, boarding schools, organize game and congratulatory programs. We are convinced that no child will be left without attention and without a festive mood," Viktor Dovnar stated.
He added that all adults participating in the campaign will visit the children empty-handed. "They will not just congratulate the children in words, they will bring sweet prizes, gifts for children and institutions. Among the gifts to the institutions will be something that will subsequently affect the development of the younger generation or the provision of medical care to children, in a word, something that each specific organization or institution really needs," the representative informed.