A young man whose life was struck by tragedy has returned to the Highlands to say thank you to those who helped looking after him.
Jenya Navumenka, 27, affectionately known as Eugene by his Scottish hosts who cared for him, made a return trip to Fort William where he was decanted in the decades-long aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Mr Navumenka had no way of getting in touch with the people who looked after him in 2004, but when he arrived in Fort William all it took was one phonecall from his bed and breakfast owner and he was reunited with organisers and hosts from his earlier stay.
Vernon Wilkes, from Strontian, and Stewart MacLean, from Fort William, both met with Mr Naveumneka when he was in the town.
Back in 2004, Mr Navumenka’s life was again struck with heartbreaking tragedy when a few weeks after he arrived home from Scotland both his parents were killed in a car crash. He was then brought up by his grandmother.
Mr Navumenka, who is now a train driver in his home town of Ossiphovishi, is the first to return of around 100 children who were welcomed to the the area as part of a group funded by Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Charity.
The charity was set up to give young people who were living in the after effects of the nuclear disaster of April 1986.
The charity believed that by giving children experiences of clean air and a healthy lifestyle with good food and access to medical care that they could not get in Belarus then their lives would be improved.
Lochaber volunteers found that many of the children who arrived had little more than the clothes they stood up in, which were also ill fitting and worn out.
In broken English, Mr Navumenka explained that he was quite unsure of what lay ahead of him when he boarded the plane to Scotland in 2004, he said: “I remember arriving on the plane into a different world with no English and little understanding of what to expect.
“However the friendliness of the people waiting for me, soon helped me overcome any concerns.”
He added: “I thank everyone so much who gave me the chance to come to Fort William.
“I did not know how to contact them again, but hoped I could find someone who remembered.
“I am so happy to meet them and really, they are so kind and have not changed.”
