LAKE FAUSSE POINTE STATE PARK — For 46 weeks out of the year, nine children staying in New Iberia don’t have what year-round American residents might take for granted.

Some don’t have running water. At least one has toes that are permanently bent from wearing shoes that are too small. Some wash their clothes on washboards, some use horses and buggies to travel and all are unable to eat fruit free of contamination from radiation, said host parents.

Highland Baptist Church, participating in the American Belarussian Relief Organization, hosts children from Belarus for six weeks each summer. Belarus is where much of the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster was located.

(Use arrows above to view more photos) Advertisement

The kids this year range from age 8 to 15, and are with 10 to 12 host families from Highland Baptist Church. This is the eighth year the church is sponsoring the children.

The nine kids and their chaperone and translator, Anastasia Zakharava, are in New Iberia until July 17.

Valeryia Savitskaya, 13, has been coming to New Iberia for the past six years. Her favorite part of the trip, she said, is spending time with her American family.

Her favorite activity is the annual trip to Blue Bayou Waterpark.

When she first started coming to America, she was living in an orphanage, said host mother Tammy White. Now, she is living with her aunt.

Many of the children live fully or part time in orphanages, said host parents. Sometimes, it’s because their families can’t afford enough food.

During their six weeks in Louisiana, the children have an opportunity to consume fruit free of radiation.

A 2009 Canadian government travel report says foods in Belarus, such as dairy products and locally grown fruit and vegetables, may still carry high levels of radiation and should be avoided.

Tammi Woerner, who brought the American Belarussian Relief Organization to New Iberia with her husband, Tim, said the children’s first week consisted largely of seeing doctors of many kinds, all of whom donate their services for free.

“It’s very generous on their part,” she said.

This is translator Anastasia Zakharava’s second time with the group. In Belarus, she is an English teacher. She celebrated her 25th birthday with the group on Saturday at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park.

“I think (the program) is very good because it makes kids feel more happy and more healthy,” Zakharava said. “(At home) some kids don’t feel the love they feel here. It’s good for their health and their emotional state.”

“We consider all these kids our family,” said program coordinator Dionne Savoy.

Host parents said they would love for another church of any denomination to get involved in bringing children to America.