A RADCLIFFE couple will embark on a mission of mercy to Belarus next week to take tons of vital aid to an orphanage and convent.

And Kazia and Rick Krzyworaczka have paid tribute to local people who have rallied round by raising cash or donating much-needed goods.

In fact, there is not an inch of space left on the couple's Ford Transit van or accompanying trailer, which will leave next Monday (June 21) on the 3,000-mile round trip.

And the overflow will give the couple a start to preparing for a similar trip - next year.

The Radcliffe duo's task this year was bolstered by proceeds from an Irish night and a Polish evening which in total raised about £1,400.

They will set off on the gruelling journey across land and sea and expect to arrive at their destination within three to four days.

Last year, the husband and wife made their first trip to Belarus, a country suffering from hardship and poverty allied to ill-health - especially among children - due to the prolonged medical effects of the Chernobyl disaster.

They drove to Belarus in July after being alerted to the problem the country was facing by a Polish nun, Sister Agnes, whom the couple got to know because her grandmother had lived in Radcliffe until her death in 1995.

They took aid to an orphanage, catering for 90 children aged three to 18, and also visited the convent where Sister Agnes lives.

The convent runs a soup kitchen for the very poor and daily it feeds between 80 and 90 people.

This month, the Radcliffe couple will be reunited with those running both the orphanage and convent.

Mr Krzyworaczka said: "This time, we're taking a load of clothes, toys, medicines and children's bikes.

"The fact we've got a trailer this time means we can take double the amount that we did last year.

"It will take us three or four days to get there and we're really looking forward to it."

The couple have praised the help and assistance provided by the local community.

Much of the cargo of aid has been donated, and the money raised from this year's two fund-raising events has been spent on medicines which otherwise would not have been available."

Monday will see the couple leave their Bealey Close home en route for Hull. They will board a ferry for Rotterdam before travelling through Holland and Germany to Belarus.

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