This July, Broadland Business Park played host to a group of children from the Chernobyl region. This is the fourth such visit and it was actively supported by D&F McCarthy, Start-rite Shoes, Makro, NatWest and Bertram Books, as well as Broadland District Council and a number of other local businesses.

On Sunday 31st July, the group of 18 children returned home, sad to be leaving but happy to be seeing their families again. A few days prior to leaving, there was a parents evening at which they told of how happy they were that their children had such a wonderful experience. It was obvious too that the children had had a fantastic holiday in England. They wanted to pass on a very big thank you to everyone who had made this possible and said they were amazed at the generosity of the English people and how even the second hand clothing was of such good quality. The children have made “Memory Books” and will always have these to look back upon as a permanent reminder.

This videoshows just some of the highlights of the children’s visit and anyone who would like to view this can do at the following link.

The trip was organised by the Mid Suffolk Link of Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline. They said: “We thank our host families for their work in this project and also the many people who support us throughout the year, raising funds to enable us to bring the children and providing sponsored outings and giving their time to arrange events for them during the visit, providing valuable dental services free of charge, collecting clothing, donating medicines to take home and many other items which all benefit either these children or those at home in Belarus.”

Broadland Business Park is welcoming another group of Chernobyl Children next July and we do hope that as many people and businesses on Broadland Business Park will get involved with their visit. Do get in touch with Joanna Thornton, estate manager, for more information.