20^th Anniversary of Chernobyl.

      2006 was the 20^th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear accident.  Sadly, the years have not diminished the problems caused by this catastrophe and children in Belarus today still need our help. Haven Rotarian Terry Ashbourne has witnessed at first hand the children in the Baby Hospitals, Orphanages and Cancer Treatment Centres dotted around the country and with ongoing support from Haven is trying to alleviate some of these problems. One way is to bring children to the U.K. for recuperative holidays to help their damaged immune systems to recover, giving them a better chance of a healthier future. The Great Yarmouth & Waveney Link of the Chernobyl Children Lifeline charity has pledged to bring another 20 children over next summer.  The cost involved will be £300 per child and so financial help will be needed to attain this goal. If any Rotarian is able to provide some financial assistance toward this would they please contact Terry on 01493 850202 or email terry.ashbourne@ntlworld.com  for more information. Every pound raised is spent on the children – there are no admin’ costs with this charity.  

Mother and child in one of the Cancer Hospitals in Belarus.

May 8th 2006

            Rotarian Terry Ashbourne was the speaker at last Monday’s lunchtime meeting of Great Yarmouth Haven Rotary Club. He talked about his recent visit to Belarus, on behalf of the Chernobyl Children Lifeline Charity, to attend a memorial service marking the 20^th anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster. With a busy schedule including visits to schools, villages, hospitals, baby centres and orphanages, the memorial service was held in Minsk and attended by a number of dignitaries. A service for local people was held later and developed into a protest. He described the political situation as delicate and local people are very wary what they say to others whom they don’t know and very careful of how they behave. Government “officials” followed the group of visitors quite overtly. The visit by the group helped to establish where help is needed most and some visiting for the first time were upset by some of the sights they encountered. However, the country tries very hard to take care of its children, with over 30,000 in orphanages. In one orphanage of 130 children, only 18 were without parents. The majority were there to protect them from domestic situations involving drugs, alcohol, prison, etc.