A CHARITY that gives children who live in an area affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster a holiday in South Wales is looking for funding after being hit by increased government charges.
The Usk branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children (FOCC) now has to pay £900 for the ten Belarusian children’s visas for their summer trips.
The visas were previously free.
FOCC also pays for the children’s flights and for interpreters to help them during their stay.
The branch’s co-ordinator Jane Hines said: “Like other charities we have found it harder to raise money over the past few years.”
The Chernobyl disaster at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine in April 1986 released massive quantities of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Much of the radiation spread over the western USSR and Europe.
Food grown in areas, such as Belarus, still contains small traces of the radioactive material.
FOCC is entirely run by volunteers. For more information contact Mrs Hines on 01291 650528 or email janehines@tiscali.co.uk
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