Memoirs of Chernobyl (3) - Ozadivka, Berdychiv District, Ukraine

Bishop Petro Zaliznii met us in Kiev and drove to Berdychiv on Tuesday evening of October 12. He is well known in Berdychiv district and he's particularly known as "a man of charity" because his commitment to love God and love neighbour. Having been a pentecostal pastor for a long time, including significant years of leading underground churches before the Iron curtain fell, Pastor Petro understands very well what it means to lead congregations through suffering and dark times in history. After Ukraine became independent, he continued his church work with much zeal and freedom that came through the political changes in the nation. He started a charitable organization in his district of Berdychiv to help children relocated from Chernobyl area. Ozadivka is a village in Berdychiv district, about 200 KM southeast of Kiev. This is where the government (the former Soviet Union gov't in this case) moved a whole village from Chernobyl area (near the 30 KM zone of exclusion) nearly 20 years ago.

From Berdychiv district town to Ozadivka village was about an hour drive through vast fields.

 
After the communism collapsed the Ukrainian government divided and distributed all of its land to everyone; some too poor to farm alone or to rent heavy equipments and sold their land to somewhat richer folks. Mostly unable to think individualistically - the fact that life depends upon their own ability to plan, utilize and control resources. People seemed to be quite nostalgic about the old days; neighbours working in collective farms; someone else (the government) worrying about their future. People I met and talked to seemed to remember the disaster with much pain and also with bitterness toward the government that the government did not, still does not do much.

As we were approaching to the village, there was a small garden dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster. 

The old Soviet government promised people with housing, schools, and a hospital in the new village, but after the collapse of communism, the new Ukrainian government was too weak to keep up with all the promises. There we went to the old unfinished hospital building that the Ukraine government could not finish. The local government sought after Pastor Petro as they thought he could put it to a good use for local community so they sold the building at a lower price to the church. Since then the church has been operating camps for children and also has a vision to move forward.