Rock millionaire Sting has lend his support to a UK-based fostering project to help orphans in the Ukraine.

The former front man with The Police, has developed a special interest in the orphans' charity Hope and Homes for Children which is based in the Wiltshire village of East Clyffe, just six miles from his mansion at Wilsford-cum-Lake, near Salisbury.

During the his tour of the Ukraine this month, the star took time out to officially open the charity's latest project, a small foster home for six abandoned children.

Safe now: One of the children helped in the Ukraine Picture courtesy of Hope and Homes for Children

The home, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, is the 40th project of its kind in Eastern Europe and Africa supervised by Hope and Homes. The family home, headed by foster parents the Baturskys, will provide six abandoned children with a new chance in life.

The children include a six-year-old boy, who was found living in a cellar and Julia, 11, who just one week ago was found living in the sewers.

Sting said: "All children are the future and the most important thing in a child's life is to give them the love of a family."

Hope and Homes has now found homes for 400 children who were previously in state orphanages or on the streets.

Last year, the charity's founder, ex-Gurkha officer Mark Cook, was given the Order of Prince Yaroslav The Wise by the President Kucma of the Ukraine. The order is one of the highest awards in Ukraine and is rarely given to foreign nationals.

It recognised the charity's ongoing work in providing family homes, as an alternative to institutionalised care, for the country's large number of orphaned or abandoned children.

This year, the charity is planning a further 15 small family homes for up to 150 more children. It is also working with a local charity on plans to close all the state institutions in part of the Ukraine.

New way forward: Children at a foster home Picture courtesy of Hope and Homes for Children

Ukraine is one of six project countries for Hope and Homes in Europe, where the charity has provided a ground-breaking approach to tackling the welfare of orphaned children.

In Romania Hope and Homes for Children is working with the government and EU to fundamentally alter the country's approach to childcare, moving it away from its reliance on institutional orphanages.

Offering hope for orphans Picture courtesy of Hope and Homes for Children

The charity has projects across the world and aims to offer a stable family life for children who have been shattered by war, disaster and abandonment. It also works to reunite children with their families through tracing procedures and

provides financial relief to an extended family who otherwise would be unable to support the orphaned child.

For more information see the charity's website.

See also

Airmen foster hope for orphans