#16 'loving homes for children' Mark Cook Co Founder Hope and Homes for Children

Hope and Homes for Children was founded by Mark Cook OBE, a retired Colonel, and his wife Caroline. The first project was an orphanage in Croatia, in a town called Lipik. Cook was posted there as part of the United Nations Protection Force. Initially, he and other soldiers repaired war-damaged orphanages before realising that what children really required was a family. Hope and Homes for children then began to pioneer the deinstitutionalisation of orphanages and children's homes. By August 2018, the charity had closed 105 institutions in nine countries, prevented around 20,000 children entering or re-entering institutions and had helped to change childcare systems. Mark talks about how the early the early mistakes they made on their charitable journey; “We had presumed that what these children needed was food, a roof over their heads, a safe place to sleep and an education, but the children themselves guided us to their heart of our mission – they desperately wanted and needed to be loved. “Over the years we have visited numerous orphanages in many countries. Some were awful and smelled so bad that we felt sick and wanted to leave; others were better, being reasonably equipped and staffed. But the one thing we never found in any orphanage was the feeling of unconditional love that is at the heart of a caring family. “Love became the key to our work and we have quite unashamedly focused on and talked about it ever since.” The charity is still having a significant impact under the expert leadership leadership of CEO Mark Waddington. Hope and Homes for Children working alongside governments and civil society organisations in over 30 countries to dismantle orphanage-based care systems. Their model of transformation is driving reform and laying the foundations for long-lasting change globally.