Empire Online UNICEF Article

February 23, 2000

Fiennes Does Charity

Ralph Fiennes has come over all Geri Halliwell with the news that he wants to juggle his thespian urges with a second career working with Unicef. After travelling to Romania last month on a fact-finding mission for the UN and UNICEF, Fiennes - currently starring in Neil Jordan's The End of the Affair - says that he was so moved by the plight of the children he met there that he is determined to help as much as he can. Fiennes' first duty in his second carer was the launch of Growing up Alone, the first of three reports into child poverty which the actor launched in London. The report highlights the three main reasons why children find themselves alone: poverty, HIV/Aids and war.

Speaking to the BBC he explained, "My interest in UNICEF was probably sparked off last year, when I was part of a UNICEF fund-raising event for Kosovo and was very impressed with the way it was organised. I hope to have an ongoing involvement in UNICEF as long as they will have me, but obviously I have work commitments so I will have to just do the best I can."