By Matt Scorer

A party of 18 children from Chernobyl recently spent a day producing a toy at Hope Valley College. 

Roman Gawel, the College's Technology technician, got involved with the hosting program last summer and organised and ran the visit to Hope Valley College.

Mr. Gawel said: "All of the children who came to the Buxton area are severely diabetic whilst those who visited other areas of the UK suffer from worse defects such as missing limbs. All of them have significantly lower life expectancy due to the persistently high levels of radiation still present in Chernobyl. Visiting the UK gives them the chance to see things they have never seen before - some of them have never seen the sea or mountains - and access to a higher standard of medical treatment for the duration of their stay."

The children spent the day using the College's workshops to produce a simple CAM wood pecker to take home to Belarus as a memento of their visit.

Mr Gawel said: "The children enjoyed the activity a lot. It gave them the opportunity to be creative and hands on and they were delighted with the finished artefact."

Visits on the hosting program give the children a break from the constant radiation they are exposed to at home. A four week visit can extend their short life expectancy by up to two years.

Mr. Gawel added: "For four weeks they get to meet new people and have a better diet. Back home their families are often too poor to afford good food and worse still the water and food are contaminated with radiation."

Principal Bernie Hunter said: "When Roman came to us with the idea we're more than happy to offer our facilities. We played a small part in making the children's visit a happy one but every little bit counts and we'd be more than happy for a similar thing to happen again in the future."

It is hoped a similar visit will take place next year but the visits are dependent on the generosity of local business and individual donations. Mr Gawel urges people to help in any way they can: "These children, and their families, are victims of the world's worst-ever nuclear accident. Please check out the Chernobyl Children's Project website and see if you can offer help or a donation."