World renowned British singer-songwriter Sir Elton John has revealed that he and his partner David Furnish would like to adopt a 14-month-old boy called Lev that they met when the star was performing at an orphanage in the Ukraine.
Sir Elton, whose hit "Candle in the Wind 1997", a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, sold some 37 million copies worldwide and is the biggest-selling single of all time, is visiting the Ukraine in connection with the work of his charity the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
As
Ria Novosti reports Sir Elton went on Saturday to an orphanage in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Makeyevka, also known as Makiivka or Makeevka, where he gave a concert for children who, in several instances, had lost at least one parent to AIDS.
Accompanied on the visit to the orphanage by Olena Franchuk, founder of the Ukrainian Anti-AIDS foundation and daughter of the Ukraine's former president Leonid Kuchma, Sir Elton came away adamant that he and his partner of 16 years David Furnish, the couple entered in to a civil partnership in 2005, should adopt Lev, saying that the young boy had "stolen his heart".
Speaking at a press conference Sir Elton, now 62, admitted that his age, his lifestyle and his performing schedule had deterred him from considering adopting a child before. However, according to
NEWS.com.au, citing a report from
Sky News, he then added:
But having seen Lev today, I would love to adopt him. I don't know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David's heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home. I've changed my mind today
Another reason Sir Elton gave for wanting to adopt was the recent death of his keyboardist Guy Babylon. The British star explained that Mr Babylon was the father of two "wonderful" children, before going on to say:
What better opportunity to replace someone I lost than to replace him with someone I can give a future to
The Ukraine, a country with an estimated population of 46 million, sits on Russia's western border and is said to have the highest number of HIV/AIDS-infected children in Eastern Europe and in the overall population has one of Europe's fastest growing rates of the disease.
Ms Franchuk, whose foundation cooperates with Sir Elton's foundation on a project called Children Plus, has spoken of how the project aims to help HIV/AIDS-affected children with no families integrate in to society, so that they are less "social outcasts" and more "real heroes".
Sir Elton, whose real name is Reginald Dwight, has sought to raise the awareness of AIDS in the Ukraine on at least one previous occasion. Two years ago he gave a free concert in the country's capital Kiev, playing to tens of thousands of people.
