Friends of Chernobyl Children get £5,000 Boost

Friends of Chernobyl’s Children are very grateful to S A Partners for their recent generous donation of £5000. This will go a very long way to helping the children in Belarus supported by the charity. It is especially welcome at this difficult time when the charity is not able to hold its usual fundraising activities. FOCC is entirely run by volunteers and so all the money is spent on helping the children.

FOCC supports children and their families who live in the south eastern corner of Belarus. This was the area most affected by the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and the inhabitants continue to suffer greatly from the effects. The area has been economically neglected since the disaster and agricultural jobs based around collective farms and low paid work, such as sweeping the roads, is all that is available. Many people live in very basic, frequently over crowded, accommodation without running water and are reliant on wells or pumps and outdoor earth toilets, often used by several households. They are dependent on locally produced food, with potatoes, onions, eggs and chickens being staples. The fruit and vegetables are grown in contaminated soil and all these factors contribute to general ill health and low immune systems amongst the population.

FOCC primarily helps the children by bringing groups to South Wales for recuperative visits. The children come for a month at a time and return for up to 5 visits on the programme. Spending time in a healthy environment and eating good food really helps to boost the general health of these children. Whilst here they are given check ups by an optician, a dentist and a chiropractor and are given any treatment they need. They also receive a year’s supply of vitamins to take back with them and other useful items such as seeds, toiletries, stationery and a good supply of donated clothing for the entire family. The children stay with host families and often form close bonds with their hosts and the helpers on the programme. They attend a programme each weekday and undertake lots of craft activities and go on lots of fun outings. They return with lots of memories of the good times they have had, the friends they have made and the love they have received, memories which they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

You can find out more about the Friends of Chernobyl Children Charity, and the work it does by viewing this video .