BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
19/09/2008
Sharapova to donate $210,000 for Chernobyl victims
NEW YORK: Tennis star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Maria Sharapova will donate $210,000 in an initiative offering scholarships to youth from regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.
Announcing the joint initiative between United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and her private foundation, Sharapova noted her own connection to the issue she was born in 1987 after her family fled Belarus for Siberia because of concerns about radiation in the wake of the Chernobyl accident.
"It has always been my dream to contribute to the recovery of a region where I have a personal connection," she said. "Enabling talented young people to pursue higher education is part of a broader effort to build a brighter future for the region," she added.
The Maria Sharapova Foundation will award 12 students five-year scholarships to study at two leading universities in Belarus. Working with UNDP, which coordinates the UN's work on Chernobyl, the first scholarship recipients will begin their studies in September 2009.
UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis warmly welcomed the alliance. "Her engagement helps to convey a message of optimism to young people in a once-blighted region where a return to normal life is now a realistic prospect," he said.
UNDP implements programmes to encourage economic and community development across the region, based on scientific findings that indicate radiation is below negative health-affecting levels. Sharapova had previously donated USD 100,000 to youth-oriented projects implemented by UNDP in Chernobyl-affected regions.
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