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The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear facility on April 26, 1986, spread radioactive fallout over a wide expanse of Ukraine, Belarus and Western Russia. Millions of people, including tens of thousands of Jews, were exposed to high and hazardous levels of radiation.
In 1990, members of the Jewish community in the afflicted area appealed for help to save their children. The Chabad Youth Organization in Israel, at the request of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, responded to the pleas of these parents, and created the 'Chabad Children of Chernobyl" organization. On August 3, 1990, the first flight of 196 children arrived in Israel. To date, a total of 31 flights have brought over 1,500 children to safety in the Jewish homeland.
The children, who arrive without their parents, are housed on special campuses in Kfar Chabad. They receive extensive medical check-ups and are under constant professional medical supervision and treatment. To improve their health and stamina, the children are provided with special diets of nutritious foods; additionally, they study, travel and enjoy a variety of activities designed to provide a normal, happy childhood.
Evacuating the children from areas that continue to be contaminated is vital to the health of these children. During this critical stage of growth and development, their young bodies are particularly sensitive to the dangerous effects of radiation. By relocating them to an area free of contamination, where the air is clean and the food fresh, healthy and plentiful, Chabad Children of Chernobyl provides them with the optimum opportunity for normal growth and development.
The humanitarian activities of Chabad's Children of Chernobyl have won the international esteem of many of the worlds most prestigious organizations. In honour and appreciation of their work, the Israel Postal Authority has elected to commemorate this unique project through the issuance of a special postal stamp.
