Thanks for visiting Joan Abrams' Just Giving page.
As you will know, Joan died on October 13, 2009. We have decided to raise money in her memory for two of her favourite causes - the Chernobyl Children's Project and the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium.
Thank you very much for agreeing to support one of these causes - they were both close to Mum's heart.
The Chernobyl Children's Project brings children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to the UK for holidays. In the summer, when the dust causes radiation levels to rise around Chernobyl, it is important for as many children as possible to leave their contaminated homeland for a few weeks of fresh air and clean food. Doctors in Belarus say that this boosts the children's immune systems for at least two years, helping them to resist, or recover from, serious illness. It can also significantly reduce the amount of radioactive caesium which has built up in a child's body. Each summer Chernobyl Children’s Project (UK) brings around 400 children to Britain for a recuperative holiday. It also organises holidays in clean parts of Belarus for children whose disabilities make it difficult for them to travel. Many of the children brought to the UK are in remission from leukaemia or cancer.
CADU is working towards an international treaty that bans the use of depleted uranium in weapons, akin to those banning cluster bombs and landmines. Depleted Uranium (DU) is a waste product of the nuclear enrichment process. It is used as a ‘penetrator’ – a long dart at the core of a weapon – in armour-piercing tank rounds and bullets.When DU munitions strike a hard target the penetrator sheds around 20% of its mass, creating a fine dust of DU which burns at extremely high temperatures.This dust can spread 400 metres from the site immediately after an impact.The dust can remain in the lungs for years if inhaled. DU is both chemically toxic and radioactive. In laboratory tests it damages human cells, causing DNA mutations and other carcinogenic effects. Reports of increased rates of cancer and birth defects have consistently followed DU usage. As CADU is not a charity you can't donate directly from this page, but can send donations to CADU, 22a Beswick Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 7HR, or transfer to Co-operative Bank account sort code 089299, number 65042867.
With best wishes
The Abrams family
