BritMums interviews Hugh Dennis on his ActionAid appeal

Hugh Dennis, the actor and comedian probably best known to many of us from Outnumbered, has a more serious side in his work with ActionAid. Dennis has been sponsoring a child for years but this year visited Myanmar in Burma, where one in four people live below the poverty line and met his own sponsored child Lae Yi Soe. Dennis is backing the ActionAid’s Christmas appeal to find sponsors for 2,700 children affected by extreme poverty or war. Hugh spoke to BritMums about his experience and gave us an insight into why he is backing this important campaign.

ActionAid was founded in 1972 as a child sponsorship charity, they work in Africa, Asia and the Americas and their mission is to put an end to global poverty and injustice.

BritMums talks with Hugh Dennis

The ActionAid Sponsor a Child campaign must take up a lot of your time and energy. What convinced you to back it and throw yourself into it?

I’ve been sponsoring children for 30 years now, ever since my first salary and in those years I have sponsored a number of children from different countries, it was a very easy decision to make to take my involvement one step further.

It must have been a very emotional visit to Myanmar in Burma. What did you see that had an impact on you?

I have travelled a lot so nothing really shocked me that I hadn’t seen before, but I was more surprised at the enormous positive effect that sponsoring a child can have. I was surprised that the simplest things can make a huge difference, like water pipes for example.

Water pipes laid down to every household in the community brings fresh water into the house but the positive effect of this investment doesn’t end there. It means women no longer have to trek for miles to the nearest water hole. This frees up their time and allows them to start work. It means children no longer have to trek to the water hole and can go to school instead. By providing simple water pipes we are changing their lives on a much greater scale than a simple supply of water.

 

Your current sponsored child is Lae Yi Soe and you were able to see her on your visit. Did you take gifts for her and her family?

I did. I took crayons, pads and shortbread. Funnily enough the shortbread was the least successful of my gifts. They were all very polite and made the right noises but I don’t think they were very impressed at all.

Were you satisfied with how you found her and her living conditions thanks to your support? Could you see evidence of the greater community benefiting from your sponsorship?

I witnessed a change in the Burmese traditions. Traditionally Burma has been a male dominated country but by sponsoring a child and therefore an entire community, we are freeing up time for the women. No longer chained to the water hole, they are seeking jobs, this allows them financial independence within the community and more respect.

My elderly father-in-law has received 5 manicure sets, 10 pens, 4 key rings, 4 handbag torches and 20 Christmas cards this autumn alone from charities writing to him to ask for a donation. Most of their ‘gifts’ have gone in the bin or dropped off at the local charity shop — a waste of good money. Are you completely convinced that your money is 100% reaching Lea Yi Soe, her family and her community?

Yes, 100% convinced that the money is reaching the right people and being used to maximise the benefits. I realise £15 a month may be a lot for some people but for many others it is not. This monthly sponsorship makes a huge difference to entire communities. One thing I noticed on my recent trip was the visible difference between communities who have already benefited from the ActionAid work and others that are earmarked for the future. That difference alone has convinced me that my sponsorship is entirely worth it.

How does ActionAid decide where the money is spent?

One of their first steps is to seek a member within the community, known as a ‘fellow’. This person acts as a liasion between the local community and ActionAid. In this manner ActionAid are able to discover exactly what is needed to change people’s lives. A plan is put in place and there is constant communication between the sides to ensure the plans are carried out to the best of all possibilities.

The fellow is often a woman, as it is known the world over how mother’s are phenomenal at organising, with their organisation skills no money is wasted and neither is any time wasted.

Hugh Dennis is supporting ActionAid’s urgent appeal to find sponsors for children across the developing world this Christmas.

How YOU can help

For just £15 a month – that’s less than 50p a day – your sponsorship will make sure that a child in one of the poorest countries in the world has enough to eat, a safe place to live and the chance to go to school.

ActionAid child sponsorship is about so much more than just the basics. You’ll be giving a child – and their community – the hope of a better future.

Find all the information on Action Aid Sponsor a Child