These are the children who were with us for recuperative care in July 2018. They were all aged ten and 11. They live in the villages of Pinkovichy and Osneszhitsky, near Pinsk in the south of Belarus where radiation levels are raised. The accident took place in April 1986 and the consequences continue to blight the lives of those who live there. Children are at particular risk because as they are growing, their vital organs - livers, kidneys, heart, lungs, brains etc. are small and therefore more susceptible to the raised levels of radio active toxins that exist in the background over large swathes of Ukraine and Belarus. The result is that their immune systems can be impaired and cancers can develop. This problem will continue for hundreds of years and some estimates say that it may take as long as 3,000 years to return to natural levels.
Research has shown that by spending one month in a clean environment, breathing “clean” air and eating “clean” food, the life expectancies of the children increase by up to five years. That’s why we are motivated to help them.
In this age of communications we are more and more able to speak to their families after the children have returned home. They are so grateful for the opportunities that organisations like Wessex Chernobyl Children’s Life Line provide. If they were able to they would be thanking you from the bottom of their hearts for supporting our work.
Please donate whatever you can to help us continue this important work. If you are a tax payer it will enable us to increase your donation by a further 25%
Thank you -- John Martindale (Wessex CCLL Chair)
