Chernobyl Children Life Line has brought over 45,000 Belarusian ‘Chernobyl Children’ to the UK since 1992. All the children stay for at least one month to improve their health.

The charity’s Inverness Link, which was formed in 1998, brings children to the Highlands throughout the year, with the main group, usually about 20 children, arriving during the summer months.

We are always in need of funds to pay for these visits – approximately £400 is needed to pay for each child to travel to Inverness (airfares, visa and insurance) and this excludes a multitude of other costs encountered whilst the children are here.

We also endeavour to support children and their families within Belarus through our ‘Family Support Project’. Individuals, families, schools, churches and businesses etc., who wish to sponsor a child are asked to pay £15 per month by standing order. This is then forwarded to ‘their’ family. Communication is encouraged between sponsor and family and many strong bonds of friendship have been and continue to be formed. It is quite common for sponsors to visit their children.

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND APPRECIATE YOUR GENEROSITY

Until recently, the money destined for sponsored children/families was taken to Belarus every quarter by charity volunteers, where it was distributed directly to the families. However, to comply with new regulations relating to transferring money between countries and also in the interests safety, we now transfer all money via the banking system.

Unfortunately, this has meant all recipients have had to open a bank account. Personal banking is not common in Belarus, especially within the rural communities where many of our sponsored families live and it has been a difficult task to organise. It has also meant that we have incurred banking costs to transfer the money and this has necessitated a reduction in payments from four a year to two. Of course, the families will still receive the full amount donated by sponsors – but twice yearly instead of quarterly. No deductions are made from these payments, but there will be a very slight variation in the amount families receive dependent on the exchange rate on the day of transfer.

The cost of transferring the funds is £15 per annum ie £7.50 for two transactions per year for each family. This is a hefty burden for the charity and is money that would be used elsewhere to benefit the children. Therefore we ask all prospective sponsors if they will be willing to pay this yearly amount in addition to the £15 per month. Please note that this is a request and should sponsors feel particularly strongly about paying this extra cost, then it will be met by the charity.

(Apart from three administrative staff in the UK and four in Belarus, Chernobyl Children Life Line is run entirely by volunteers)

Chernobyl Children Life Line is a registered charity (Reg. no. 1014274)

We are grateful to you for taking the time to read this site. If you would like further information, then please do get in touch via our contact page.