The charity moves children out of institutions into family-based care, helps keep together families who are at risk of breakdown due to the pressures of poverty, disease or conflict, and works to prevent child abandonment.

[13] Having initially renovated orphanages there it learnt that what children really need is a family and instead developed a model to close them with, starting with Dom Most Institution.

[17] It is the largest programme for Hope and Homes for Children, and they have led the closure of institutions and established replacement services in several counties.

[19][citation needed] In 2012 they completed the closure of Sarata Noua, the first institution for children with learning disabilities in Moldova.

[citation needed] They closed the Makariv institution[21] and set up replacement services to support children and families.

[22] Having developed a number of community hubs to support vulnerable Rwandan families to stay together, HHC closed Mpore PEFA Orphanage in Kigali, the first orphanage to be closed following best practice in Africa; this was done with the support of the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion.

Working with the religious community a Fatwa was issued to 'decriminalise' abandoned, illegitimate babies which allowed them to be 'adopted' within the Islamic Kafala principle.

Income included £1m in grants, largely from the Department for International Development and the European Union, the latter to support work in Romania.