Festival raises cash for nuclear victims
HUNDREDS of pounds was raised for young victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster at a festival in Littleborough.
Organiser Geoff Read was living in the region in central Japan with his wife Mitsuko and their then eight-year-old son when the earthquake and tsunami struck in 2011.
It led to a nuclear reactor meltdown which caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Geoff has since dedicated himself to raising awareness of the dangers of nuclear power and on Saturday held the charity festival at Littleborough Conservative Club to mark the sixth anniversary of the incident.
It saw bands and artists, including Geoff’s own group Cat’s Cradle, perform a series of gigs and workshops throughout the day, which raised almost £1,000 for 183 children and young people now suffering from thyroid cancer as a result of the radiation and children orphaned by the tsunami.
Geoff, 58, said: “A massive thank you to everyone who came to or helped with the Festival for Fukushima.
“We raised a not-tooshabby £877 on the day for the children with thyroid cancer and tsunami orphans, which is very much appreciated .
“It was a top day with lots of interesting things happening and great music and dancing as well as a reminder of the human and environmental cost of this outmoded, dangerous and dirty technology which even Japan, the world’s most technologically adept nation, cannot handle safely.”