Twenty-two years after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, children born nearby are still suffering the effects.

CHARLOTTE McDONALD talks to staff at a charity which gives the youngsters a holiday.



RADIOACTIVE fallout from the Chernobyl explosion in April 1986 was one hundred times worse than the combined Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs dropped at the end of the Second World War.

After around 190 tonnes of contaminated dust was thrown into the atmosphere from the plant in the Ukraine, 70 per cent of it fell on neighbouring Belarus.

Radioactive dust also carried in the wind to the north and west of Belarus, even reaching both Scandinavia and the UK.

Soil in Belarus still contains radiation and this continues to contaminate the food chain up to humans.

There are increased cases of thyroid damage, chest infections, eyesight and respiratory problems, cancer and anaemia among the people who live in the area around Chernobyl.

Concern for Chernobyl Children is a charity which raises money to bring children from Belarus to Kent for a month's holiday.

The charity's chairman, Malcolm Gourlay, said: "Doctors in Belarus believe a break from this contamination in fresh air with clean food boosts a child's immune system for up to two years."

This year, the charity is hoping to find host families for the 27 children aged from nine to 12 who will visit from July 25 until August 22.

While here they will also go on trips to the seaside and parks.

Sometimes other charities and organisations will sponsor a child or provide a trip.

This year, BT is organising a trip to the BT Tower in London.

Volunteers for Concern for Chernobyl have spent the year running quiz nights, summer and Christmas fairs, boot fairs and a sponsored walk to raise the money.

This year they have raised the £14,000 needed for air fares and Criminal Record Bureau checks, which each host family must undergo.

The charity, which has been running for 14 years, is based in Dartford and Gravesend but host families in the past have come from as far as Orpington and Bexleyheath.

They must be prepared to take the children to Dartford to go on the trips organised by the charity.

Its secretary, Frances Outram, said: "They learn a bit of English at school. We get by with phrase and picture books.

"When I first had a child come to stay, I had a book with pictures of food and animals.

"We also have three interpreters with the group who are on the end of the phone at all times."

Mrs Outram got on so well with some of the children she has hosted over the years, she paid for them to return for another holiday.

The children come from Uvaravitchi and Kostukovka schools, which are rural areas near Gomel, which is near where the disaster happened.

For more details, call Mr Gourlay on 01474 332375 or visit the website at concernfor chernobylchildren.co.uk