On Saturday the 27th of February, the Great Baddow congregation played host to Chris and Gerrie Bayley, and two young girls from Belarus. They came to give us an update on the charity they are heavily involved in called, ”Chernobyl Children’s Life Line”. This charity along with others, bring children over from the seriously radiated areas of the country of Belarus to be given a month’s holiday here in Great Britain for their health. The two girls, 10 year old Yana and Katya, sang two Belarusian songs for us and charmed us all.

75% of the nation of Belarus was seriously infected by the radiation fallout from the terrible disaster of the Ukrainian nuclear power station explosion on the 26th April 1986. This means that the people of this country are eating and drinking radiation polluted food and water, and will be doing so for hundreds of years to come. A great proportion of the people of Belarus are slowly being poisoned by the radiation including, of course, the children. It has been found that if the children of pre-puberty age spend one month of radiation-free water, air and food, it literally adds at least four years to their life. Nearly all have problems with their teeth and eyesight which are able to be treated over here, usually free, by the goodwill of opticians and dentists. Most of the children come over with only the clothes they are wearing so clothing is usually provided as well.

At a cost of £500 per child, this represents wonderful, life-giving value. Tragically, the concrete covering that was poured over the nuclear facility to contain it, is now crumbling and as it rains the water seeps through the building and makes its way back into the ground adding more radiation pollution to the soil and water tables. This means that the situation is worsening rather than improving. The town that Yana and Katya are from sits on a highly polluted river in which children still play and swim.

Due to the generosity of Great Baddow, £1000 was raised which will pay for two more young children to come over. That equates to an additional 8 years of life, which is cheap at the price. Only Jesus Christ can ultimately solve these problems, however we must do whatever we can until that time.