Belarus Visit - Safe Seed Project - Summer 2005

Fund raisers from Swanage have just returned from Belarus, where children are still suffering the grim legacy of the Chernobyl disaster. Every summer since 1988 a group of children from the contaminated zone have spent a month in Purbeck to help boost their life expectancy.

For the first time members of the Swanage & Purbeck Rotary Club and Purbeck Chernobyl Link made a trip to the area the children come from. the rotary club raised £5600 towards costs of transporting equipment, seeds and 40 tonnes of compost so schoolchildren can grow uncontaminated vegetables.

Bernard Bettles, Rotarian and member of the Purbeck Chernobyl Link said "clean vegetables grown from soil that is not contaminated will feed the school and any surplus will be sold to raise funds for the school - they are also growing flowers to sell for school funds. Eating good food will also help build up their immune systems." He also said: "we will never forget seeing the village where some of the children come from - it was very moving. They have no running water at home, no toilets and they fetch their water from a well in the village".