Chernobyl

The Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986 contaminated countless areas in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia with extremely hazardous radiation. Around five million people are still exposed to this invisible danger today. The consequences for those affected might include a severely weakened immune system, disabilities, cancer and early death. Children and young people are the most seriously affected.

Due to ignorance and a lack of education as well as the precarious circumstances – poverty and unemployment in particular – many people are unprotected and at risk from the radioactivity. Without external help, their situation thereby deteriorates increasingly every day.

As part of the Green Cross Social and Medical Care Programme, those in need of assistance, particularly children, receive social, psychological and medical help to counteract the effects of the pollution at different levels. Furthermore, along with their parents, they are taught how they can improve their living conditions in the contaminated environment through simple means. Green Cross thus offers them health, independence and optimism for the future.