Hopes are high that, by the end of March, £20,000 will have been found to equip a house to save the lives of ten Ukrainian street children, writes Karen Barden.

Within days of launching a Westmorland Gazette appeal to give the desperate kids of Kiev their first taste of a real home, around £3,000 had been pledged.

Kendal charity supremo Pat Wright, who has spearheaded a campaign to throw a lifeline to the homeless urchins - who currently spend winters in the sewers and summers in cemeteries and on park benches - said she was delighted.

Her charity New Beginnings, which raised a remarkable £20,000 in a year from donations in South Lakeland and Eden, is about to sign up for a village property on the outskirts of the city.

The house will be called Genesis and promises to signal a new start for children who face a bleak future and daily fight for survival.

Some are sold into prostitution, others turn to vodka and glue sniffing, to give some relief from the grinding cold, hardships and dangers, which accompany every single day. The youngest abandoned child found so far was just three.

In Kiev alone there is a conservative estimate of 8,000 street children. The actual number is thought to be much higher.

"I am now absolutely certain we will be able to have the house up and running this summer and, when winter comes around, ten little souls will not have to suffer it again," said Mrs Wright.

Last week we asked readers to donate money to help pay for a range of items now needed to turn a shell into a warm, vibrant home, where care will be provided by loving Christian "parents".

Kendal's Heron Hill Primary School children got the ball rolling with a hefty £1,000 cheque.

Pupils thought long and hard about how their hard-earned pounds should be spent and decided to pay for five sets of bunk beds, four lavatories, and a range of toys.

Kirkby Stephen farmer John Hall had heard a sermon about new beginnings, the week before the appeal was launched. When he picked up a Gazette and saw the plea for help, he responded immediately and gave £150 for a microwave.

The farmer knows too well the horrors of the cold. In Kiev, winter temperatures plummet into the minus 30s and the street children huddle in evil, filthy sewers for warmth

"It was a very touching response," said Mrs Wright. "Mr Hall said he had seen appeals for African children with flies in their eyes, but could relate more to youngsters having to cope with bitter conditions."

Staff at Elmsfield Residential Home, in Holme, were reduced to tears after reading of the daily fight for survival for Kiev's street children.

They pledged to come up with £800 to equip a bedroom, with a series of fund-raising offensives.

As soon as Kendal Indoor Market traders opened for business on Friday morning, they had a whip-round and collected £100 to buy toys for the new home.

Carole Taylor, of Kendal's Ultimate Plum Pudding Company, said she wanted to donate £150 to buy pots and pans, saying no six-year-old child should ever be reduced to sleeping in a sewer.

Mrs Wright said she had received a number of smaller donations through the post and had been handed £10, many from pensioners.

"I've had other offers such as a wood burning stove, but we can only deal with cash donations, as we have no storage facilities and no way of getting aid out to the Ukraine."

She said she had been overwhelmed by the kindness of readers and hoped the cash-raising momentum would continue at its current pace.

February 6, 2003 10:30