The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, is to visit Romania at the end of July. The Archbishop, who sponsors a Romanian child through the charity The Christian Children's Fund of Great Britain (CCF), will be visiting various charity projects during his visit.

He will then formally open CCF's new Family and Child Service Centre in Cluj. This centre, partly funded by the National Lottery will house a number of Romanian charities aimed at serving the community and will also act as CCF's headquarters in Romania.

CCF runs one of the largest childcare programmes in Romania, and the visit will enable Dr Hope to visit supported institutions, families and group homes in the North-west region of the country. He will also have the opportunity to visit his sponsored child and will spend time meeting Romanian church leaders to discuss the future for Romania's children.

Says Dr Hope of the visit, "I have had an interest in Romania for many years now and I am looking forward very much to seeing how the work of CCF is benefiting the children of the country. Romania may not be headline news anymore but a deepening economic and social crisis means that many children and families are still in desperate need of our support. I hope that my visit will highlight their situation."