DEEP beneath the streets of Odessa, on Ukraine's Black Sea coast, 13-year-old Sasha is trying to make a better life for himself and the four other children with whom he lives.

Among the country's tens of thousands of street children, for Sasha and his friends, Dennis and Vitalec, both 13, Vova, 14, and Roma, 12, home is a maintenance access point for the city's heating system where they huddle together for warmth among rubbish and human excrement.

Sasha has cut into a cable from a neighbouring garage to power a light bulb and a toaster.

Sasha and the others may benefit from Mary's Meals, a project due to launch in Ukraine early next year, to provide free meals and education to street children and those from deprived backgrounds.

The scheme, run by Scottish International Relief, feeds 50,000 children a day worldwide. In Ukraine, each meal will cost just GBP1. To donate, use the form on the left.