Welcome to the MID SUFFOLK Link. We are based in Needham Market but our Hosts and supporters come from anywhere between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds and also as far as Diss.

We are part of a national charity founded in 1992 by Victor Mizzi M.B.E. Since then over 150 "Links" have been established throughout the United Kingdom, raising money to support the children of Belarus, whose lives will be forever affected by the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. We are now into our third year of operation but the picture below, shows the 22 children who were hosted in our first group during August 2008. The children arrived pale and tired, this picture taken just before the children went home shows just how much they improved during the four weeks they were here. Not only did they return home happy but also every child had been to the Dentist, receiving free treatment where neccessary and also to the Opticians where six children received free glasses.

To see a slideshow showing some of the events from the 2008 visit please click on the following link and when taken to the slideshow, click on View in High Quality at the bottom right of the video window. Slideshow 2008.

In 2009 another 16 came to the UK via our group and this year we are bringing our biggest group yet, anticipated to be in the region of 26 children! These children will all come from the region of Cherikov which is one of the radation hotspots of Belarus. Although the children will not be sick when they travel they have all inherited the legacy of Chernobyl and they and thousands of others must live with the effects of this disaster,day in and day out for the rest of their lives.

The Link meets once a month at the Swan Public House in Needham Market. Richard and Sue of the Swan are kind enough to allow us the use of their function room. All are welcome, including children and we look forward to welcoming you. It is a great opportunity to meet everyone and see how you could help us support these children. You do NOT need to Host to help. Your time, just an hour or two if thats all you can spare, can make a tremendous difference to us and to the children.. We are working hard to raise the money we require to fund this next visit and have some great events lined up that all the family can enjoy. Please click on the Fundraising Link on the left of this page to see details of our forthcoming events.

"STOP PRESS" We now have a Charity Shop to be found in the High Street of Needham Market. This is a real "Aladins Cave" with everything priced to sell. Why not drop in and grab yourself a bargain.

We would like to extend our very grateful thanks to our Sponsors without whom this Link would not exist. Please visit our Sponsors page to see what they have done for us.

We appreciate there are difficult times ahead for many people in the UK but we need to help these kidz and YOU can help us..........’cos you know....."Every little helps!"

Imagine: Living the rest of your life in a radioactive polluted environment. There is no escape. Money cannot buy protection.

Imagine: Eating food that may harm you, but what else can you do?

Imagine: Coming to the UK and eating fresh food and breathing fresh air and going home with your imune system recharged.

Imagine: Knowing that people DO care.