Belarus sets up 1394 commissions for local, parliamentary elections

Nikita Makarov, a sixth-grader from the Vitebsk region, wants a rather unusual gift for the New Year. He needs an electric attachment for his wheelchair to be able to get to school independently. The "Ball of Kindness" charity New Year's marathon will help fulfill the dream of this boy and other children with health problems.

Specialists and wards of social service institutions in Belarus and Russia made Christmas tree decorations in the style of their native region with their own hands and presented them at an exhibition-auction in the "Vitebsk" concert hall. The starting price for each Christmas ball is 50 rubles. The proceeds will be transferred to families from Vitebsk and the Vitebsk region raising children with disabilities.

– The first "balls of kindness" were made at the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Population of the Vitebsk Region, and the idea of the marathon belongs to the director of this institution, Ekaterina Lazovskaya, to which 76 social service institutions have joined. A total of 100 balls have been created, – said Vladimir Terentyev, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies. – The state provides constant support to people with disabilities, but any help from caring people is also important; simple human participation supports faith in good.

Boris Efremov, Chairman of the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee, invited managers and teams to join the marathon. He expressed confidence that next year the "Ball of Kindness" will expand its borders and the number of its participants will increase.

Nikita Makarov's mother, Tatyana, thanked everyone who joined this good cause: – My son is growing up in a large family; he is the sixth, the youngest child. A miracle has already happened to him once: thanks to the support of the "Life" charitable foundation, funds were raised for Nikita's surgery in St. Petersburg, after which he is no longer bedridden – he can move around on a wheelchair outdoors and with a walker indoors.

At the opening of the "Ball of Kindness" exhibition, Nikita and his mother, like other visitors, interacted with the authors of the works and took pictures with life-sized animated dolls, among which Cheburashka became the public's favorite. The cartoon character also gathered people of the golden age around him, for whom he has been a beloved television character since childhood.

Raisa Kovalenko, a visitor to the department for the elderly at the Liozno Territorial Social Services Center, shared that she gladly made a New Year's toy that could bring a child's dream closer. Lyudmila Stankevich, the head of the club at the Braslav District Territorial Social Services Center, shared that while