Nine residents of the Vitebsk region were awarded the Order of Motherhood

October 14, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The best mothers were honored today at the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, a BELTA correspondent reports. The main guests at the solemn reception were 36 women from all regions of the oblast, raising biological and foster children. Nine of them were awarded the Order of Motherhood, and 27 were honored with certificates of honor and the prize named after Hero of the Soviet Union Z.M. Tusnolobova-Marchenko. In total, in the Vitebsk region, over 500 women have been awarded the Order of Motherhood, and almost 270 have received the prize named after Hero of the Soviet Union Z.M. Tusnolobova-Marchenko. "Mother's Day is a tribute of respect and reverence to women and their difficult but noble burden of motherhood. And today we have another reason to express our deep gratitude to you for this labor," emphasized Vladimir Novatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, congratulating the mothers on the holiday. He noted that strengthening family values and stimulating the birth rate in Belarus are given considerable attention. This is reflected in a number of legislative acts and national programs aimed at supporting family, childhood, and motherhood. Using the example of the Vitebsk region, the First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee spoke about some of the state's assistance measures. For instance, in the first half of the year, state benefits were granted to almost 142,000 children. Br6.3 billion was allocated for providing food products to children under two years of age from low-income families, thanks to which 6.2 thousand babies received free meals. Great attention is paid to children's health improvement. During the current summer period, over 3,000 orphans and children left without parental care, and 11.6 thousand children from large and low-income families were covered by various forms of health improvement activities in the region. The latter category of families received assistance worth Br1.4 billion for preparing children for school. -0-