Chernobyl Orphanage Appeal

Welcome to the Chernobyl Orphanage Appeal website!

Founded in 1998 after a visit to Belarus revealed the horrors facing thousands of children and their families following the devastating Chernobyl nuclear accident, the Chernobyl Orphanage appeal has sent over 140 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the region to help relieve the suffering.

FLAG DAY
Our annual sponsored walk in the Ballyhouras takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 3rd. The starting point is at car park at Ballinaboola Wood and the walk begins at 1pm.

All funds will help with the cost of sending the aid to Belarus. If you would like to lend a hand please Contact us.
AID TRUCK IN APRIL
We are currently gearing up to sending our next truck load of humanitarian aid to disadvantaged areas of Belarus. We need your help to fill it!

Please check out the Volunteer page to find out what items we need. Unfortunately the truck won't load itself so you can also register as a volunteer to help us out on the day! Remember, many hands make light work!

On April 26th, 1986 at 01:23:45 a.m a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near Pripyat, in the Ukraine exploded.

Further explosions and fires sent a plume of highly radioactive materials into the atmosphere and over a large area of land.

Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Due to the prevailing winds at the time the plants close proximity, around 70% of the radioactive fallout was blown into Belarus.
The explosion was the result of a power surge in reactor number 4 during a test of electrical equipment.

Human error was a major causal factor. During the test several unauthorised actions were taken by operators which included disengaging safety and cooling systems.

Design flaws in the reactors cooling system also contributed to causing the uncontrollable deadly power surge.

The plant did not have an effective containment structure, and without that protection, radioactive material escaped into the wider environment.
An area of over 160,000 km² has been contaminated by the disaster. Around 2000 villages very evacuated with some 130,000 people resettled in Belarus alone.

In Belarus around 2.2 million people were directly affected by the disaster.

Over 20% of the agricultural land of Belarus was contaminated resulting in contamination of the food chain. Some of this land is still being farmed today.

Re-contamination is still occurring as forest fires can scatter radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated land is still being tilled.
The main radiation-related effect of the disaster is a large increase in cases of thyroid cancer in children, usually extremely rare in the young.

There is evidence of increased occurrences of cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive system and nervous system diseases amongst children. The effects of radiation are expected to persist for several generations.

Just as damaging is the psychological trauma of the experience. This, combined with the adverse economic effects and bad health, has broken up communities and families. And inevitably it's the children that suffer the most.

Truck en route to Belarus!!

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Welcome to the Chernobyl Orphanage Appeal website! Founded in 1998 after a visit to Belarus revealed the horrors facing thousands of children and their families following the devastating Chernobyl nuclear accident, the Chernobyl Orphanage appeal has sent over 140 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the region to help relieve the suffering. FLAG DAY Our annual sponsored walk in the Ballyhouras takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 3rd. The starting point is at car park at Ballinaboola Wood and the walk begins at 1pm. All funds will help with the cost of sending the aid to Belarus. If you would like to lend a hand please Contact us. AID TRUCK IN APRIL We are currently gearing up to sending our next truck load of humanitarian aid to disadvantaged areas of Belarus. We need your help to fill it! Please check out the Volunteer page to find out what items we need. Unfortunately the truck won't load itself so you can also register as a volunteer to help us out on the day! Remember, many hands make light work! On April 26th, 1986 at 01:23:45 a.m a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near Pripyat, in the Ukraine exploded. Further explosions and fires sent a plume of highly radioactive materials into the atmosphere and over a large area of land. Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Due to the prevailing winds at the time the plants close proximity, around 70% of the radioactive fallout was blown into Belarus. The explosion was the result of a power surge in reactor number 4 during a test of electrical equipment. Human error was a major causal factor. During the test several unauthorised actions were taken by operators which included disengaging safety and cooling systems. Design flaws in the reactors cooling system also contributed to causing the uncontrollable deadly power surge. The plant did not have an effective containment structure, and without that protection, radioactive material escaped into the wider environment. An area of over 160,000 km² has been contaminated by the disaster. Around 2000 villages very evacuated with some 130,000 people resettled in Belarus alone. In Belarus around 2.2 million people were directly affected by the disaster. Over 20% of the agricultural land of Belarus was contaminated resulting in contamination of the food chain. Some of this land is still being farmed today. Re-contamination is still occurring as forest fires can scatter radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated land is still being tilled. The main radiation-related effect of the disaster is a large increase in cases of thyroid cancer in children, usually extremely rare in the young. There is evidence of increased occurrences of cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive system and nervous system diseases amongst children. The effects of radiation are expected to persist for several generations. Just as damaging is the psychological trauma of the experience. This, combined with the adverse economic effects and bad health, has broken up communities and families. And inevitably it's the children that suffer the most. 2009-04-24 18:00:00 GMT+00:00 Truck en route to Belarus!! HOME \| WHAT WE DO \| CONTACT US \| DONATE \| VOLUNTEER