Warmth from the summer sun, the smell of hotdogs on the grill and faint cheers from a fishing boat created the perfect backdrop for an American barbeque.

But this time, the picnickers, who enjoyed such a setting at a U.S. nuclear power plant, live thousands of miles away.  This summer more than a dozen children from Belarus visited the World of Energy, Oconee Nuclear Station’s visitor center.  Besides a picnic and boat tour of Lake Keowee, they learned about the operation of the nuclear plant at the Duke Energy site.  This marked the second year that many of these children visited the United States.

The children lived with host families for six weeks.  The families sponsored the cost of bringing the children from Belarus and coordinated their visit through the American Belarusian Relief Organization (ABRO).  While in America, the children received free medical, dental and vision care.

For some Belarusian youngsters, a visit to a nuclear power plant causes a mixture of emotions, from fascination to anxiety.  In 1986, a safety experiment at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, conducted in violation of the plant’s technical specifications, went wrong.  A resulting fire released a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere, affecting the people of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Michael Cousar, an insurance agent from Anderson, S.C., and host parent, shared his Belarusian child’s reaction upon arriving at the plant.  “As we pulled up to the main security entrance of the station, with the three reactor buildings towering off in the distance, Vlad, the Belarusian child living with my family, motioned with his hands an explosion and yelled, ‘no go, no don’t go.’ ”

Belarusian children learn about the Chernobyl accident, and photographs of what happened are displayed around their country.  “Once Vlad arrived at the World of Energy, he relaxed and quickly realized he was safe and had a wonderful day,” Cousar added.

Jason Walls of Duke Energy community affairs hosted the children at the World of Energy.  “This event provides a first-hand opportunity for these children to see the safe operation of a nuclear plant and enjoy the natural beauty of Lake Keowee in the mountains of South Carolina,” Walls said.

Bert Spear, an engineer at Oconee, and his family have served as hosts for their Belarusian child, Anastasiya Liavonenka, for the past two years.  “ABRO is a great program and provides the Belarusian children with an opportunity to improve their health and to enjoy some of the South Carolina summer activities with host families,” Spear said.

“Anastasiya is a part of our family while she’s here and became close friends with my youngest daughter, Katie.  Katie is learning Russian, and the two girls plan to keep in touch by telephone after Anastasiya returns to Belarus.  Our family benefits from this experience by learning about the country, people and culture of Belarus,” Spear added.