BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/05/2006

Chernobyl children to visit

FIFTEEN children from the town of Grodno in Belarus, whose lives are still being affected by the Chernobyl disaster, will visit Radlett next month.

This is the third time that children from the Jewish community in Grodno will have visited Radlett and also marks the 20th anniversary of the disaster which contaminated 16,000 square kilomettres of Belarus.

The three-week visit, which will start on Wednesday, June 7, has been co-ordinated by the Jewish Chernobyl Children charity and the Radlett and Bushey Reform Synagogue, which is twinned with Grodno.

On Sunday, the synagogue hosted former stars from Les Miserables in a production of Master of the House.

Proceeds from the production, along with contributions from the local community, have raised more than ?1,500 for the children.

Paul Janes, chairman of the charity, was delighted with the evening's performances and the support from the community.

About 170 people attended the performance, which bodes well for Mr Janes' plans to hold jazz and classical music fundraisers in the future.

The money raised helps provide the children with healthcare from doctors, dentists and opticians during their stay in the UK.

According to Mr Janes, the Belarussians were not only victims of the devastating effects of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, but also of the poor healthcare system within the former communist state.

Mr Janes visits Grodno every year and said that although there may be enough healthcare staff, the resources and equipment are at least "30 years out of date".

Giving an example of how dire the children's health can be he said: "One of the children seen by a UK dentist in a previous visit required 13 fillings." Along with healthcare treatment, the funds cover trips to London, to the seaside, tennis and swimming.

Mr Janes added: "We also want to send the children back to Belarus with a couple of essentials, including a winter coat and vitamins, which are sadly lacking in the traditional Belarussian diet at this time." Mr Janes said that the visit to Radlett was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the children.

The benefits to the welfare of these children will remain long after their visit to Britain. He said: "A good proportion of the children go back and become more involved in community life. "They are the future of the Jewish community over there."

For further information on what readers can do to help, visit www.rbrs.org.uk or telephone 01923 856110.

Source:

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.775530.0.chernobyl_children_to_visit.php