FORMER Big Brother producer Lucy Buck from Rotherfield has founded a new online charity.
For the past four years Lucy had been spending six months of the year working in a Ugandan orphanage.
In 2008 she decided to give up her TV career and devote her time to setting up a charity to make a difference to the lives of hundreds of abando
ned babies in Uganda.
Child's I Foundation aims to set up a Child Abandonment Project developed with the help of leading experts in social care in the UK and Uganda - a unique model which helps mothers at risk of abandoning their babies; sets up a transitional home to provide short-term life-saving care and creates a family placement programme to ensure every child grows up in a loving family.
With support from celebrities such as Life on Mars star, Philip Glenister, leading independent TV production company Endemol and a team of global supporters the foundation has been created taking advantage of interactive social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
More than 100 UK TV professionals have signed up to volunteer their skills and visit Uganda to produce weekly video updates once the charity is established there, so supporters can see exactly where their money is going and the difference it is making to the lives of abandoned babies.
They can interact with questions and suggestions and be part of this online community.
Lucy was recently one of the eight recipients of the Vodaphone World of Difference award which will pay her a salary for the coming year and pay the charity's expenses.
Philip Glenister's Buy a Brick campaign for the charity can be accessed via http://buyabrick.childsifounda
tion.org for the virtual Brick Wall where people can donate any amount from £2.50 and leave a message for loved ones, yourself or the Child's I Foundation team!
