I love this photo. His face is full of promise. Dreams that are big, potential to change a world. Life stories to write, memories to share, a legacy to leave. Millions of children around the world are looking for hope and a future. What do we bring? What do we give? Who do we become? You can shine light in dark places. (Photo Taken: India January 2005)

Sponsoring a child is one of the most strategic things we can do to help alleviate poverty. This girl in India is one of the children sponsored through Compassion. The Salvation Army partner with Compassion to run this particular project and we had the absolute privilege of running a kids' club for the children. (Photo Taken: India January 2005)

This boy was the inspiration behind this book. I was at a clinic in Ghana. While walking around the compound I turned and saw his face, watching every move! My journey over the past decade has taken me to many places of poverty in the world where the people deal every day with the contradictions of life. Poverty and joy. Pain and hope. They seek to live with the confronting fact that where there is incredible hope, there is also a deeper, darker torment. Millions of children and women are being harmed each year because of a sickening trade. Human Trafficking is our modern day slavery. People being sold into slavery because of a promise of a better life - a promise that is a lie. May we seek to be the difference that we want to see in our world. (Photo Taken: Ghana April 2005)

As much as people in poor countries appreciate development assistance, no-one wants to rely on a handout - they want to trade their way out of poverty - but international rules make it difficult. A fair trade system would give people in poor countries the chance to earn their way out of poverty by participating in the world economy. (Photo Taken: Vanuatu December 2004)

People get caught up in trafficking as they are attracted by the prospect of a well-paid job as a domestic servant, waitress or manual labourer. Traffickers work through networks and recruit victims through fake advertisements, mail-order bride catalogues and casual acquaintances. On arrival at their destination, the victims find themselves in very different circumstances, being forced into commercial sex or labour work. Traffickers work to create fear and dependency among their victims, by getting them addicted to hard drugs, taking away travel or ID documents or threatening to harm their families if they don't cooperate. (Photo Taken: India January 2005)

In 2001, through Compassion, I began to sponsor Joanes Odera, a young boy who lives near Lake Victoria, Kenya. Each month, I send money to help pay for his education, health care and to assist his grandmother in putting food on the table for him and his sister. I've had the honour of meeting Joanes three times now. The first time was in 2002 when on holidays in Kenya, and then again in 2005 and 2006. Then I saw a young boy who is turning into a man. Joanes has lost both his parents, something that is quite common in the community in which he lives. His grandmother is helping to raise both him, his sister and now his cousins. On my second visit, his grandmother was once again overwhelmed by the fact that someone from as far away as Australia cares enough to help Joanes have a future that he otherwise wouldn't have. It is a step towards breaking the cycle of poverty. Such a beautiful family, living in an incredibly poor community. (Photo Taken: Kenya September 2005)

It was time to pray at the end of our kids' club. But not everyone wanted to close their eyes. And why would you want to, when you can smile at the camera! We'd had an amazing time at this Compassion kids' project, singing songs with the kids, playing games and building hope into their lives. I love the work Compassion does helping to alleviate poverty in the lives of children all around the world. (Photo Taken: India January 2005)