Despite 24 hours of exhausting travel, a group of disadvantaged children could not hide their joy when they arrived in Moray last night.
The Friends of Chernobyl’s Children charity is welcoming 18 youngsters into families across the region for a month.
The kids, aged from eight to 10, have returned from Belarus – which is still feeling the after-effects of the Chernobyl explosion 30 years ago.
The children have been selected to stay in Moray to give their fragile immune systems a rest from fighting the radiation that persists in their homeland.
Spending time outdoors in the fresh air and enjoying good food during the yearly trips is reckoned to add years to their lives.
This will be the children’s third year of visiting Moray, and charity organisers are eager to offer them some new experiences.
Clare Cotton, co-ordinator of the Moray branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children, outlined their plans last night.
She said: “The children had been travelling for about 22 hours when they finally arrived in Moray, but they were very excited despite their exhaustion.
“This is the third year of coming here for most of them, and these stays keep them going for the rest of the year.
“That means that they are established with families here, who welcome them so warmly.
“We are planning an outing to the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie, and to the Morayvia aviation centre at Kinloss.
“We have arranged swimming sessions in Lossiemouth every Wednesday, as they enjoyed those so much previously.
“They don’t get to swim at home, so this gives them a skill which could save their lives as well as being fun.”
Organisers added the trips would not be possible without the help of Forres’s Osprey Trust charity, which donates the use of its minibus.
The group’s Eric Duguid said: “We are just happy to help, we know the bus saves the organisers a lot of work.”
School classes are also being run for the children, who live about 150 miles away from the Chernobyl plant.
On previous occasions, the group have visited during the late summer.
But the timing was rearranged this year, so as not to interfere with the children’s education, some of whom will be moving on to secondary school this summer.
