Radiation Disasters
Global Green and Green Cross International provide medical treatment in the form of therapy camps to children in the Chernobyl region. We also provide rehabilitation, prosthetics and other devices to youth with disabilities in South-East Asia.
The therapeutic camps involve various intercultural activities, such as sports, environmental education, and building communication skills. In the workshops, the campers discuss topics such as the 2030 Agenda, recycling, and renewable energy. They also get the opportunity to learn about the situations of other countries relating to these topics. Key themes of the Green Cross therapeutic camps include the management of daily radioactivity exposure, learning about the effects of radiation on humans and the environment, and coming up with new perspectives for the future. To this end, for example, the campers visit the Juckerhof Discovery Farm near Lake Pfäffikon to pick berries. This activity illustrates how the pectin fibres found in fruit can be used as a natural method to absorb radionuclides within the body. During the camp, the young people also benefit from a medical and psychological check-up. The levels of radioactivity within their bodies are assessed at the beginning and end of the camp.
The campers learn how to strengthen their immune systems through proper meal selection and preparation, physical activity and therapy, and by strengthening their home-skills. For many participants, the camp is a unique opportunity to meet young people of the same age from different countries and cultures. Previous camps have shown that many new friendships are born from these experiences.
Our camps in Switzerland, which the Movetia Foundation has funded in order to promote cultural exchange, is the result of Green Cross Switzerland’s Social Medical (SOCMED) programme. SOCMED is dedicated to health and education. Green Cross Switzerland has welcomed children and young people to participate in these four-week therapeutic camps since 1995, and separate camps are also held in preserved and uncontaminated areas of Moldova, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Medical and psychological support, as well as a balanced diet for the duration of the camp, allows the campers to strengthen their immune systems and reduce the level of radioactivity present in their bodies by up to 80%.
