Rail operator London Midland teamed up with an international charity so that youngsters affected by the Chernobyl disaster could enjoy summer day trips.
Ten children from villages in Belarus have been enjoying treats including a day on the river and visits to restaurants and popular tourist attractions as part of a recuperative break.
The youngsters have been staying in Malvern, in Worcestershire, thanks to the kindness of families in the area. Families host two children as part of the Chernobyl Children Lifeline charity’s work.
This is the sixth year the Malvern committee has hosted a visit, with 10 youngsters arriving each year.
London Midland Head of Station Services, Richard Brooks, presented the youngsters with chocolates and organised tickets for them to travel to Worcester and enjoy a trip on the River Severn.
They also received travel passes to Birmingham for a visit to the Sea Life Centre.
“We were delighted to help. This is a wonderful charity and it’s uplifting to see these youngsters experiencing a different culture and forgetting some of the difficulties back home.”
Malvern group committee member, Rev Jim Knights, said: “They are having a tremendous time. It’s an opportunity for them to have a break and see some of our splendid countryside. They’re really enjoying their time here.
Group leader and interpreter, Olga Trukhonovets, said the youngsters were happy and had really benefitted from the break.
“There have been so many activities that most of them are tired, but very happy,” she said.
Belarus, where the charity’s work is focused, received 70% of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in April 1986 and as a result, thousands are born every year or go on to develop thyroid cancer, bone cancer and leukaemia.
