SEQUIM — Their twinkling eyes and smiles don’t paint an accurate picture of the lives of nine Belarussian children hosted by eight local families for the next six weeks.
They are the children of Chernobyl.
Before they were born, their lives were forever altered by the 1986 nuclear plant disaster that irradiated their homeland in the former Soviet Union.
During their six weeks in Sequim, the children get a break from living in radiation, receive medical and dental care, eat nutritious food — and experience what it’s like to be American.
The yearly visits to the United States are made under the auspices of For The Children, a nonprofit group based in Pierce County.
The nine children living with Sequim families are among 50 who made the arduous 48-hour journey from Belarus.
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The rest of this story is in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
