Mayor meets Chernobyl Children
From The Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Ken Hawkins on 17 August 2012
The Mayor of Solihull has met with children and teenagers from Belarus as part of the Chernobyl Children’s Project.
The Solihull Group of the Chernobyl Children’s Project invited 23 children from the Eastern European nation to stay in the borough over the summer for a recuperative holiday.
Ten younger children stayed with various families around Solihull while thirteen teenagers were looked after by volunteers and stayed at the Springfield House School in Knowle.
Many of the children are from the Gomel region of Belarus, an area badly contaminated following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986. Today, twenty six years after the disaster, children are still having to suffer the long term effects of living in a radioactive environment.
Some of the children have been in remission from cancer or are recovering from surgery, whilst others have experienced trauma through the premature deaths of parents or siblings.
The grave health effects of living in a contaminated environment for the entirety of their lives means that the life chances for many of these youngsters are vastly reduced. Just four weeks in a ‘clean environment’ such as Solihull can boost a child’s immune system for up to two years.
The Solihull Group of the Project have been organising various activities to help the youngsters enjoy their stay, including a trip to the seaside.
The Mayor, Councillor Ken Hawkins, said, “You simply cannot fault the amazing work that the Solihull Group of CCP have been doing for over ten years now to help these completely innocent children, who through no fault of their own have to live their lives in unsafe conditions. I’m very proud of those Silhillians who have come forward to host these great youngsters.”
Since 1999 the Solihull branch of CPP has provided nearly 300 recuperative holidays for Belarusian children. The organisation as a whole delivers regular humanitarian aid to Belarus and has set up small family homes for orphaned children with disabilities.
To find out more about providing a holiday to remember for the children, contact Ken and Kath Ruane on 0121 705 3707 or visit www.chernobyl-children.org.uk.
For enquiries from members of the press and media only, please contact Alex Hemming on 0121 704 6136
Email: alex.hemming@solihull.gov.uk