So week 2 is already over and we've continued to fill the days with fun and adventures.
Monday started with a trip to a local food bank, the New Hope Food Bank in Killamarsh, Sheffield
The host families all make a donation to the food bank and the girls enjoy giving back some of their time to a very worthwhile cause.
The same evening we heading to a new activity for this year #ZUMBA with Claire Staniforth
The girls all joined in, on what proved to be one of the hottest evenings of the week; we even managed to get the group leader Tatsiana to join in as well as some of the host and support family members! Paul represented the male contingency of the group and did them proud, although I think the girls found his efforts somewhat amusing at times! A tired but well exercised group went home for the evening....with just a few of us moaning about aches and pains the following day from muscles we didn't know we had!
On Tuesday we were again keeping up our fitness with the fantastic Laura Turner-Ramadan and Jo Strong from #NorthLondonLions and #GBSwans. They played some great games with the girls and managed to perfectly time activities to miss the massive thunderstorm on the day too! These two individuals are amazing!
There was plenty of friendly competition between teams this week and the girls loved to see the medals brought in by Laura too. As Aussie Rules Football is a self-funded sport the ladies are always looking to increase awareness of their sport. Please look them up and show your support at
The following day included the very important business of dentist check-ups. We are incredibly lucky to have the continued support of 655 Dental Care @Chesterfield Road Dental Practice. Every year this generous and caring team make time to see the CCLL Sheffield visitors and offer dental care where needed. Both the charity and the children's families back in Belarus are always very grateful for this treatment as often this is either inaccessible or unaffordable for them back home.
After the dentist we had a last-minute invitation to join the group at #CheerManiaAllstarsUK for a gym and cheer session. This was an opportunity we simply could not turn down!
The girls were invited by Philippa to try out drills and tumbles as well as playing games and improving their dance technique. All of them got stuck in and gave it a go...smiles all round, especially from one of our visitor whom turned out to be quite the gymnast!
The day was 'rounded off' (well done to those of you that got the gymnastics link there!) with a relaxing sail on the waters of #Ulley Reservoir. The sailing club there have again supported the charity for a number of years and always put on a lovely evening for the children, taking them out on the boats and teaching them some basic sailing skills.
This is an opportunity they would not normally have, and the adults always love it too as the group also, very kindly, bakes cakes and biscuits galore for the evening! We also are incredibly lucky to get the chance to see a real #Olympic gold medal from Paul Goodison, winner of the Men's Laser Class in the 2008 Summer Games. The adults were just as excited about this as the girls!!
Thursday was a chance to skate and swim. The girls enjoyed an ice skating session at iceSheffield then went to #RotherhamLeisureCentre for a swim. The girls especially enjoyed the slide here!
Rotherham Leisure Centre and the staff there have been incredibly supportive of the girls during their stay in the UK. They have offered free swimming sessions to us and as this is one of their favourite activities, we are very grateful for this kind offer. https://placesleisure.org/centres/rotherham-leisure-complex/
On Friday morning we went for another roller skating session then off to #RotherhamFireStation where Clare and the team welcomed the girls and host families for a tour of the station. There was plenty of dressing up and practising using the hose just before the team got a call out. Louise even realised with all the years of quick change practise in dance shows she still wasn't the quickest into the uniform!
On Friday we had party night! This is always a lovely chance to play some fun games and get some funny pictures from the visit. So here it is, the rogues gallery for you to enjoy!
It was lovely to see all of the girls playing the games, the English children and Belarussian children were equally competitive but supportive of each other too.
We thought we would finish this weeks blog with the two pictures that show the contrasting experiences of host and support families during the visit. On Wednesday we managed to capture a photograph of one young man having a 'dreams-can-come-true' moment, with his Olympic gold medal, whilst on Friday Steve was once more demonstrating his excellent behind-the-scenes cleaning-up skills!
Thank you again to all the host and support families...without you the children would have no opportunity to come to the UK. You're the reason they are here, and we are all very grateful! x
See you here for the week 3 update soon!