Profiles

In April 1986 a reactor exploded at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, causing a nuclear disaster.

Much of the fallout was deposited close to Chernobyl, in parts of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, which was particularly badly affected. The ground was heavily contaminated with radioactive material and will continue to be for thousands of years.

Volunteers from across the North East host children from the affected area for a one month holiday every year, and this short time with clean air, water and food is thought to increase the children's life expectancy by two years.

Some of the children have never seen the sea

Angels of the North are the regional link to The Chernobyl Children Life Line (CCLL), a charity specialising in providing vital care and support to families affected by radiation.

The volunteers are spending their summer 2009 showing 10 children the sights of the North East, and for some children who have never seen the sea before, our region can have a life-changing impact.

Click on the video below to see the children at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth:

The children are from Children in Trouble, a charity that works with CCLL, and are aged between eight and eleven. All of them are in remission from cancer caused by high levels of radiation.

Carole Roberts helps run Angels of the North and this year is working with eight other couples. She said working with the children was sometimes heartbreaking:

Carole Roberts is a host this year

"Some of the children have never seen the sea, or a vacuum cleaner, and some have never even been in a car. It's a humbling experience.

"Belarus is landlocked, so the children are delighted when we take them to St Mary's Lighthouse or to Tynemouth.

"They jump up and down and collect shells to take home and show others what they look like."

However, the children know the North East has an unpredictable climate.

"It's a bit of a joke that before they come they're warned about the North East weather," says Carole.

"They laugh at the rain, but it doesn't stop them playing in rock pools or practising their dance routines on the beach for their end of holiday disco."

'A different world'

For Carole, it's the small things that count.

"The feeling you get seeing a severely disabled child, who might be overlooked and hidden away in his country, catching the biggest crab in a rock pool is fantastic," she says.

According to Carole, when the children are in hospital in Minsk, they receive medical treatment only. There is no care package involved, meaning they don't have any laundry or catering facilities.

They rely completely on their parents to feed them and change their clothes, which Carole says is a "different world to our NHS system".

One of the aims of Children in Trouble is to raise money to provide accommodation for families when their children are in hospital.

Carole believes that the fresh, clean air here helps boost the children's immune systems, giving them a break and chance to recover, and she and the other volunteers will continue to provide this lifeline year after year.