From April, 2002 until March, 2004, 29 local NGOs were registered by the Justice Department of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee. 12 of them were registered in 2002. In 2003, 15 new NGOs were registered and one NGO was re-registered because of a change in its status (the Oblast-wide Charity: “Wave of Chernobyl” previously had a regional status). 2 NGOs were registered in March, 2004.

1 of the NGOs registered in 2002 (the Buda Koshelevskoye regional cultural-educational NGO “Radimichy”) existed for a while and was then closed by court order in 2003.

In 2004, the Gomel-based “Gomel Hairton” and the NGO promoting development of private businesses “Unity” were registered. Local NGOs in this region are working in the following basic fields:

—Ecological awareness (e.g. the Mozir Town Ecological Awareness NGO: “Pripyat’”);

—Cultural-educational (e.g. the Vetkov Regional Cultural-Educational NGO: “Development” and the Interregional Jewish Cultural Society: “AMI”);

—Charitable (e.g. the local Charitable NGO for ex-young prisoners of concentration camps “OZARICHI”, the Gomel-based charity: “Rainbow” and the oblast-wide charity: “Chernobyl’s Legacy”);

—Chernobyl (e.g. “Aid to Gomel” and the oblast-wide charity: “Chernobyl’s Legacy”);

— Children/Youth (e.g. the oblast-wide: “Children. Women. Future….);

— Sports (e.g. the boxing society: “Ring”);

—Ethnic Minorities (e.g. the Interregional Jewish Cultural Society: “AMI”, the oblast-wide Jewish centre: «Hesed: Brat’ya»);

—Social (e.g. the oblast-wide: “Social Projects”);

—People with disabilities (e.g. “Nephron” the NGO dedicated to ensuring the social wellbeing of people with kidney diseases);

—Children with disabilities (e.g. the Mozir-based NGO for parents of disabled children: “Cry of the Soul”);

—Hobbies (e.g. the Rogachyov regional NGO for beekeepers: “Beekeeper”, the NGO for hunters and fishermen «Zor’ka»);

—Other (e.g. the Gomel-based NGO: “Gomel Hairton”).