Chernobyl kids breath pure fun at Pembrey Park

Twelve children from Chernobyl enjoyed a fun day at Pembrey Country Park riding steam trains and the popular Ski Pembrey toboggan ride.

The children and their host families were guests of the park through the Swansea branch of the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline and a link with Morriston fire station engineer Rob Raynor from Burry Port, who is also chairman of Llanelli and District Model Railway Engineers based at the park.

The boys and girls aged nine to 12, from Belarus and Minsk, rode steam trains, the toboggan, had ice lollies at the park’s Sidan Café playground and enjoyed a party thrown by the model engineers.

Mr Raynor said it was the ninth year they had been able to entertain a visiting Chernobyl party. He said he had never seen so many happy smiling faces.

Chairman of the Swansea Lifeline group Roy Gambold, of Tirdennaw, Morriston, said: “We are always overwhelmed with the generosity of the park and Mr Raynor’s members.

“None of the charitable work would be possible without the donations received through the year to pay for flights and the generosity of host families throughout Swansea, Llanelli, Burry Port and Kidwelly.

“We wish to help build the futures of those affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in a principled, effective and humanitarian way.”

We are committed to bringing trust, dignity and joy both to those we seek to help and to our volunteers and supporters. Together we can achieve this and change lives… one by one.

Mr Gambold said most of the children were from a region that received over 70 per cent 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 leukemia.

He said their aim was, with other groups about the UK, to bring child victims of the Chernobyl disaster to the UK for recuperative breaks of four weeks – over 46,000 have been brought over to stay with host families since the movement started in 1992.

English teacher travelling with the group, Halina Serafimovich, said the children had so much fun they had tears of happiness throughout the afternoon in the park.

She said: “It means so much to be able to walk in open spaces, breath clean air and play without the risk of radiation and to eat and drink with no fear of contamination.”

Anyone who wants to support the Chernobyl Lifeline appeal can contact Mr Gambol on 0785172079 or visit the website for more information: www.ccll.org.uk/swansea/