MANDY MOORE - MOORE SET TO BECOME LATEST CELEBRITY AFRICAN ACTIVIST

MOORE SET TO BECOME LATEST CELEBRITY AFRICAN ACTIVIST

Pop star/actress MANDY MOORE has become the latest celebrity to dedicate time and money to the desperate aid effort in war-torn Sudan after handing out the first of three million malaria nets in the African nation for charity Population Services International.
The Saved star has just returned from her first trip to Africa and admits the experience made a big impact on her - and she can't wait to get back there.
She tells WENN, "It was a humanitarian trip to southern Sudan and I'd never been to Africa before and I absolutely fell in love. I was like, 'I want to see the entire continent.'
"Although the Sudan is not a vacation hot spot, I fell in love with the people and their spirit; I was blown away by everything and I'm ready to begin travelling in that sense. I'm going to start working with this organisation, called PSI (Population Services International) and they're like this organisation that works in, like, 65 different countries around the world.
"Through that, I'll be able to see different countries and I'll be able to use this position that I've been given and this power, I guess, and this platform to raise awareness for things that mean something to me.
"I'm going to be working on this thing called Five & Alive which is about helping children around the world in impoverished countries reach the age of five, so combatting malaria and cholera and all water-borne diseases.
"I got to hand out the first of three million malaria nets. It was an incredible trip. It had a profound effect on me."
But she won't be following Mia Farrow's example and fasting to raise awareness about the desperate plight of Sudanese refugees.
Moore adds, "She has been an incredible humanitarian and she has dedicated her life to the cause. It (hunger strike) was a bit extreme but there are lots of other ways we can help."
Farrow ended her fast after 12 days last Friday (08May09) after doctors warned her she was seriously damaging her health.