Cycle event to raise €125k for Chernobyl victims

MORE than 200 amateur cyclists will set off today in an attempt to raise €125,000 for victims of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

The Pfizer Cycle for Chernobyl, which will travel for Cork to Galway, aims to raise the money for a 250sq m extension to the day-care centre in Petrikov, Belarus.

The extension will enable the distribution of humanitarian aid to the region and allow the Chernobyl Children’s Project International (CCPI) to provide extensive medical services to needy families.

The cycle, which will finish in Galway tomorrow evening, will be seen off by the CCPI’s Adi Roche and Lord Mayor of Cork Donal Counihan. To date funds raised from the annual cycle have contributed to the construction of a day-care centre in the town of Zhytkouitchi and financed a second centre in the town of Petrikov.

Money raised had also financed the Home Stay programme, where children from Belarus are brought to Ireland for rest and recuperation holidays, and the purchase of three medical vehicles for day-care centres and children’s institutions in the region.

Pfizer has donated €25,000 to this year’s event and it’s hoped the cyclists will raise an additional €100,000-plus through sponsorship.