Charity back on its feet after site hack

The Northern Ireland Children to Lapland Trust’s online site was attacked last month, with a significant amount of material erased.

The charity organises an annual visit to Lapland for terminally ill, long-term ill and deserving children, along with their parents and carers.

Chairman Jack Rodgers, from Larne, said the news was “very distressing” having come so close to this year’s Lapland trip on December 17.

“It’s the busiest time of the year not only for our fundraising, but the selection of the children who will go on our charity Fantasy Flight to Lapland has started,” he said.

However, the group have been working hard since the hacking incident to restore photographs and other data from previous trips, with the site itself now back online.

“We had some photos from past trips on computer drives that we’ll be able to upload, although there are some we’ll never be able to retrieve,” said Jack.

“We have our Facebook page and people can also donate through Just Giving, any Danske Bank or local Wineflair, or by contacting Fiona Williamson on 07710 731517.”

The Trust will this year be bringing a total of 220 children, parents, carers, doctors and nurses on the trip, including a number from East Antrim.

“We brought six kids from Roddensvale last year and this year we were able to increase that to 10,” said Jack.

The one-day trip see the group travel from Belfast International to Rovaniemi Airport in Finland.

On arrival, they will be taken to the indoor Santapark - a massive underground venue where they will meet Father Christmas himself.

“The park is in an old underground nuclear bunker that’s about twice the size of the King’s Hall. There’s artificial snow and it’s a an amazing sight,” added Jack.