Local charity, Camp Claddagh, the Galway branch of the Adi Roche-founded Chernobyl Children's Project International, has launched its annual drive to recruit new families to support its rest and recuperation programme.
The primary goal of the group is to give children from the affected area of Belarus a month’s holiday away from their contaminated environment with volunteer host families in the Galway area.
Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, yet the health and wellbeing of more than 3,000,000 children continues to be severely affected.
To date the charity has hosted some 175 children and looks to continue its work as it plans the 2011 summer programme.
The children will be in Galway for the month of July 2011 and normally stay in pairs, with two separate families, over that period. One family host two children for the first part of the holiday (approximately two weeks ) and then the children move, together, to a second host family for the latter part of their holiday (again, approximately two weeks ).
If you would like further information or are considering being part of the project, contact group leader Fiona Conneely, without obligation, at (087 ) 2096374 or (091 ) 574074. An information night on the programme will take place in the Westwood Hotel on Wednesday September 22 at 8pm.