Wayne Martin with Charity Wambwa; Deputy Provisional Children's Officer, photographed after a meeting about the most urgent needs in the region

In 2000, I visited the country of Kenya, East Africa for the first time. In particular, the Nakuru area, about 2 hours from Nairobi, Kenya's capital.

It was heart wrenching to see young children looking for scraps or anything that resembles food amongst rubbish in the streets and many of the children have the habit of sniffing glue. This of course has some shocking side effects, including severe brain damage and should be highly discouraged. The main reason they sniff glue is that it also suppresses their hunger pains. Children with seemingly no future, or at least an extremely bleak future, are unable to escape their predicament unless someone helps them.

Many children sniff glue from plastic bottles, which has some shocking side effects, including severe brain damage. It also suppresses their hunger pains.

What a life-changing experience it was to see first hand the extreme poverty that exists in that part of the world. But there was relief from my anxiety, even joy, when I left densely populated Nakuru and went to the nearby rural area where I visited one of the orphanages now supported by the World Health & Humanitarian Foundation. There I saw what to me was a miraculous transformation - the happy, smiling faces of the well-fed, well-dressed children, children that were once in the same predicament as those I had just witnessed.

An Australian family had traveled to Kenya 4 years earlier to do what they could to relieve sickness and suffering. A stark contrast to the comforts of Australia, Kenya is indeed a challenging place to visit, let alone make ones home there! Yet Ralph and May Spinks, along with their two children Ben and Danielle did just that. Sacrificing the joys of family and friends, and the comforts of life in Australia, they established an institution to cater for one of the greatest needs in Africa - Orphaned Children. Many of which are genuine 'street kids', with no parents, no roof over their heads and no food, apart from what they beg for or find in rubbish dumps.

Although I have been very active in fund-raising efforts since my first visit to Kenya, with some success, nothing compares to the fund-raising concept designed by the World Health & Humanity Foundation called the Supporter Rebate Program. This concept has wonderful benefits for both charity and supporter alike.

In 2005 it was my privilege to accept the position as the International Coordinator for World Health & Humanitarian Foundation and what a wonderful experience it is to be directly involved with saving thousands of lives. If you are reading this story for the first time and have not yet become a supporter of the World Health & Humanitarian Foundation, then I urge you to join us in helping with the vast needs that exist in Africa and other countries where extreme poverty still exists today!

Please join us so we can also be helping you to help others; lives are depending on it!

Yes, happy, smiling faces certainly help our whhf support be even more rewarding!