Children whose communities were badly affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have been helped by a goodwill gesture from the East of England Co-operative Society. 

Children from Chernobyl, who are staying with host families in Essex as part of a recuperative holiday from Belarus, have been provided with fresh fruit from the Fiveways Supermarket in Tiptree.

Many of the children suffer from ailments ranging from a weakened immune system to cancer as a result of the disaster.  The fresh fruit supplied will enable the host families to provide a healthy diet and will ensure that each child gets the best diet of fresh fruit to help build up their immune system. 

Linda French from the Mid-Essex branch of the Chernobyl Children’s Project said: “A healthy diet, coupled with clean fresh air and water give benefits that last far beyond the short time they are in Essex.”

On Wednesday 26th July, children and representatives from the Chernobyl Children’s Project called into the Tiptree store to meet with store manager Rob Miller, whose store has helped provide fruit for the charity for a number of years.

Every summer the Chernobyl Children’s Project brings around 400 children to Britain for a recuperative holiday and also arranges dental and eye checks for the children while they are in the UK.

Note to Editors

The East of England Co-operative Society is the largest community retailer in East Anglia.  Its 200 trading outlets are located in 65 towns and villages, plus the three regional centres of Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich, covering more than 2000 square miles of East Anglian countryside, from Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex to Sheringham in Norfolk.

For further information, please contact:
Miriam Harrup, Communications and Community Manager,
East of England Co-operative Society, 38 Carr Street, Ipswich, IP4 1EW   
e-mail m.harrup@ipswich-norwich.coop