Chernobyl Children's Appeal

An extract from the Evening Telegraph

20th December 2006

...

The third group of people who will benefit from your generosity are children living in the Ukraine, who are still struggling to get their lives back after the horrific accident at Chernobyl nuclear plant devastated their country 20 years ago.

Rosie Sandall will be taking the toys to a children's hospital around 15 miles from Chernobyl on January 4. It will be her and her husband John's twentieth trip to the country. They will be just in time for the Ukrainian Christmas, which kicks off on January 7.

The couple support the hospital, as well as 14 families in the poverty-stricken country, in which nine in 10 children are born with thyroid problems as a result of radiation poisoning.

Mrs Sandall said: "Thank you so much to everyone who gave us a teddy or a game. These children live in grim tower blocks in a country where the average weekly wage is just £5, and so you can imagine what these presents will mean to them.

"We have had incredible support from the Peterborough community over the years, and everything given to us is very gratefully received.

"Your donations really will make their Christmas."

Find out more about efforts to help Chernobyl.