WHEN Hampshire man Philip Dean first witnessed the terrible plight of African street children like Sadiatu and Abdulia on a trip to war-ravaged Sierra Leone, he knew he had to help.

Two years and a giant leap of faith later, the Christian from Swanmore has helped turn around the lives of so many youngsters left to fend for themselves.

He set up the St George's Foundation to rescue children involved in gangs and prostitution from the streets and give them food, shelter and the chance to go to school and be reunited with their families.

However, it is a spiritual journey that has surprised 43-year-old Philip himself.

He said: "It's not something I imagined I would ever get involved with, but when I went out there with another charity I was shocked by what I saw.

"These wild, violent children had been abandoned.

"I kept thinking they were just children like any you find here and they deserve what every child has here.

"If I did not do something maybe no one else would."

Philip, an embroiderer by trade, started out by grouping the youngsters and feeding them each day, but realised it was not enough - they were like wild animals because of the dangerous lives they had led, scavenging to stay alive.

So he ploughed £2,500 of his own money into buying and staffing a large bungalow that could house more than 60 children so that they did not have to go back on to the streets at night.

The transformation that followed meant that eventually they could go to school.

They even helped trace the children's surviving family members.

Now another 40 street

children have been selected for the project, and Sadiatu and Abdulia - two of the teenagers Philip first helped - have come to the UK to speak to church groups about the project.

Philip, of Hill Pound, and a member of St Barnabas Church, Swanmore, said: "It's very humbling to see what these children have achieved."

To find out more, call Philip on 01489 894133 or visit www.adecentlife.org.