Sunday 24th July 2011

It was an event that shook the world and changed the lives of many in the surrounding area and, 25 years on, the disaster at Chernobyl still means that toxins survive in the surrounding area, causing suffering and illness.


The children visit New Whittington Primary School with their interpreter Tatyana with the 'Chernobyl Children Lifeline' Charity

Now 10 children, all aged 10 years, are in Chesterfield for the next month, experiencing life out of their country for the very first time, along with what friends say is their first taste of fresh air and fresh food.

Chris Broome is the Chairman of the Derbyshire Dales and the East Midlands and South Yorkshire link of the charity, Chernobyl Children Lifeline and he told The Chesterfield Post during a visit to New Whittington Primary School, just how valuable the next 28 days are in the lives of these children.

He told us first of all why the children were over here, "We have lots of children here at the moment - Sheffield, Pinxton and Mansfield to name a few places. Viktor Mitzi started the project in 1991, which was the first time that the kids were allowed to leave the country after the break up of the Soviet Union. It started after the disaster in 1986 which contaminated huge areas of Belarus and Ukraine - the holidays began in 1992 and mean that the children experience clean water, fresh air and food. All of this gives the children a chance some respite from the radiation."

The effects of the radiation are still evident, "Radiation is going to be around for a long time - it will take a long time for radiation to go. 2 to 3 generations will be affected - it gets into the food chain, all the vegetables they grow will have radiation. It causes cancers; there have been lots of thyroid cancers over the years - thousands of cases. There are birth defects too; statistically 9 out of 10 children living in these countries are unwell, because of the effects of radiation. Although they look well, all the damage is internal and will come out in later life."

He went on, "This is just the holiday of a lifetime, they have never been abroad, lots never been away from their families - they love being here, though it takes a while to adjust - the culture is different, we have so much here - we take them into a supermarket and their eyes pop out of their heads!"

It's a busy 4 weeks says Chris, "They have their eyes tested and they have glasses if they need them, they also have their teeth checked, and they visit all sorts of places - Chatsworth, Drayton Manor, they go on outings to the seaside - most have never seen the seaside. They do all sorts of activities but also they spend time with their host families."

To whom the organization is very grateful, "We couldn't do this without the host families - it's all voluntary, they get no payment - but we all get so much out of it - to see the kids enjoy themselves and relaxing - you can tell the difference, not only in their health, but their confidence and development. They're so full of joy and happiness for having been here, Some are lucky enough to be invited back by their host families."

It does cost to do this though and Chris admits that it's a huge undertaking to raise the necessary funding, "Every year it doesn't get easier to raise funds - it costs about £500 a child for the 4 weeks, so that's £5,500 this year. We mount various appeals and fundraising along with donations - schools help as well, they do a non uniform day so, between it all, we always manage to raise enough."

Whilst we are talking, the children are running around in the playground, squealing and playing like the English children at the school. An interpreter, who also spoke to The Chesterfield Post, accompanies them.

Tatyana is from the Ukraine, and lives in a village about 100 km from the by now infamous nuclear plant. It's her 3rd visit to the UK and she is hugely grateful for the Chernobyl Children Lifeline charity, "We're here for 28 days, to help health improvement for children, they do wonderful work for our children, they get good experiences, impressions, they like it.”

She added, that the children are, "Still affected healthwise - even now, the problems become worse, after all this time."

They are, she says, "Coping well, the first week they're a bit homesick but after 4 weeks they don't want to go home, all attention here is on them, at home they don’t get so much!"

She wanted to say "thank you to families who help - their work is honest and it's wonderful that we can come here because of such a project - we can't improve the health of our children at home."

For more information check out the website - www.ccll.org.uk.

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