Chernobyl Disaster Charity Homepage

Welcome to Chernobyl 2000's Homepage

Who are we?

Chernobyl 2000 are a Worcestershire based charity started by Mike and Maureen Worton back in 1998. Their purpose is to run humanitarian aid convoys to Belarus and organise recuperative visits for Belarusian children to the UK through educational and performance art links.

Why Belarus?

Quite simply, because they need it. (Pictures) Belarus was the country most affected by the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Most of us remember the name Chernobyl but few of us realise how it has changed the lives of so many, even those who weren't born when it happened.Between sixty and seventy five percent of this fallout landed on Belarus making them the worst affected country. One fifth of the land mass of Belarus was contaminated beyond recommended levels and 99% of the land is still contaminated to some degree.The people of Belarus live, eat, drink and breathe radiation.

What were the effects of Chernobyl?

Even now 21 years on, the effects of the disaster can still be seen. In 2001, the estimated thyroid cancer rates were up 2,400% from before the Chernobyl disaster and were still rising. Congenital birth defects have risen by 250% and the contaminated land that the people live off is ensuring that the cycle continues and without money, you cannot escape the radiation.

Other than the obvious health implications of Chernobyl, the aftermath left Belarus financially crippled. Twenty five percent of the national budget was spent on trying to overcome problems the disaster has caused and as there is no international law governing the incident, they have received no compensation to help their people. Today 2.2 million Belarusian’s still live in contaminated zones, 500,000 of this number are children.

What do we do to help?

The work of Chernobyl 2000 is three fold. The first part is the collection of items, which are donated through various corporate and individual sources and which are essential to a successful convoy. These items range from protective clothing for the fire brigade to a sensory room for the handicapped and include the basics such as clothes, cleaning materials and medical supplies. Hand in hand with this is the organisation and financing of the warehouse and the charity’s own vehicle so we can collect and store items donated until the next convoy.

The second part is the convoy itself, which is the biggest expense for the charity. Each vehicle that goes to Belarus is rented and at an approximate cost of £2500 per vehicle (including rental, fuel, insurance, tolls etc) means many long hours of fundraising for our volunteers to make the convoys possible.

The final part of our work is dedicated to the recuperative visits and cultural exchanges weorganise. This involves not only planning and financing the children’s return travel from Belarus to the UK but also the programme for when they arrive. Chernobyl 2000’s recuperative trips are based on links with schools and performance arts so that when the children arrive they not only get a recuperative holiday which can add years to their lives, but they also get the experience of a lifetime.