CHARITY FOCUS
Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Providing life-saving respite for young people Who are we and why we do what we do? Thirty-five years ago, on April 26th 1986 at 1.23am, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station exploded. As a consequence of the explosion, radioactive elements fell across Belarus and the Ukraine with the fallout continuing to affect the people of these countries for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Our charity, the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, was established and registered in 1992 by the late Victor Mizzi OBE to support children and their families from Belarus and Ukraine, forever affected by the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion has caused numerous and varying health issues for the population which will last through generations to come. As well as thyroid cancer, bone cancer, leukaemia, and other non-oncological conditions, many people continue to experience
severe psychological distress directly linked to the effects of Chernobyl. This in turn often causes medical conditions which can then develop to become serious and even life threatening.
The main aims of our charity are: To bring child victims of the Chernobyl disaster to the UK for recuperative breaks of up to four weeks - close to 50,000 children and young adults have benefitted from staying with host families since our inception in 1992.
To provide on-going supplies of multivitamins and basic healthcare products, school uniforms, stationery, learning aids, special needs items, clothing, shoes and toiletries to the children on their return. To work with our Belarusian and Ukrainian partners to locate children who will benefit from a recuperative care break. To help children too sick to travel by providing chemotherapy medicines to Children’s Cancer Hospitals in Minsk, Gomel, Mogilov and Brest regions, support with medicines and equipment for Baby Home No 1 in Minsk, assist numerous social centres (temporary foster care facilities), individual foster families, and centres for children with special needs as well as several orphanages. The Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline’s reason for being is not for the relief of poverty or to provide holidays for
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