Actor and heartthrob Orlando Bloom made a surprise trip to Russia recently, to visit the Krasnoselsky social shelter in Moscow on behalf of UNICEF.
The shelter works with children from vulnerable families who are unable to provide for them. Many of the children at the facility have been neglected or forced out onto the streets and exposed to physical and psychological abuse.
“I was very impressed with my visit to the UNICEF-supported shelter,” said Bloom. “I wanted to understand for myself some of the crucial work being done for those children who really need help. Every child has the right to food and to live in a family environment. I was amazed by the strength and courage of the children and how the centre was trying to enable the children to return to their original families.”
Earlier this year, the 32-year-old star of “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” spent four days touring the western districts of Nepal with UNICEF, visiting programs run by the organization.
“I like the fact that UNICEF does not simply provide people with the humanitarian aid, but also elaborates on methods and tools to solve problems and improve the life of children and women,” he said.
UNICEF supports a number of institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg that offer rehabilitation and support to at-risk children, and also promotes social programs that provide intervention, support and reintegration services.
“UNICEF is pleased to see that in Russia, much more priority is now being placed on minimizing these situations in the first place either by supporting vulnerable families or developing alternative family based care when it is not in the best interest of the child to grow up in its biological family,” said UNICEF’s Representative in Russia, Bertrand Bainvel.
