The Children have now left the House of Hope Orphanage in Ingushetia and have safely been repatriated to Chechnya where they are residing at the moment in makeshift accommodation. Obviously this is far from ideal but they are safer now back in their own homeland. MARCCH has visited them there last month and we were able to deliver to them some clothing, foodstuffs and other vital items of necessity. Thanks to our anonymous benefactress who had earmarked her donation specifically for a building in Chechnya to house these orphans we are anxious to carry out this project as soon as possible.

Marina and John Dorken would like to convey their heartfelt thanks to all who agreed to sponsor the trek that they undertook in the Himalayas in October. They are delighted to say that the response to the appeal was overwhelmingly generous and it looks like having raised something like £6-7k (including the tax benefit) - well above the target of £5k.
This is mainly because they managed to meet pretty well all their goals. The only blot on the (spectacular) landscape was that John failed to complete the final (optional) push to the highest point of the trek (4940 metres) because of the effects of altitude. But he did make it to 4500 metres and Marina did the full whack to the top.
They both found the experience pretty gruelling. The overwhelming view they had was of their feet desperately groping for the next foothold on the boulder strewn paths and some of their most poignant memories were of struggling out of their tents in the wee hours in temperatures of -10 to attend to bodily functions which were abnormally stimulated by the altitude. But even the latter torture was greatly mitigated by the magnificent sight of the mountains bathed in moonlight, and of course by day, when they were not assailed by the penetrating mists that wafted up from the valleys below, they were treated to some awe inspiring views. Altogether it was an unparalleled personal experience for them. Again, many thanks to everyone for their support for the children of Chechnya.