By Tim Saunders on
Singer and actress Mandy Moore has just returned from her first trip to Africa, where she handed out malaria nets for Population Services International.
“It was a humanitarian trip to southern Sudan and I’d never been to Africa before and I absolutely fell in love,” she told WENN. "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 traveling in that sense. I’m going to start working with this organization, called PSI (Population Services International) and they’re like this organization 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 combating 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.”
Moore also talked about her support for Mia Farrow's recent hunger strike to raise awareness of problems in the African nation.
“She has been an incredible humanitarian and she has dedicated her life to the cause. [The hunger strike] was a bit extreme but there are lots of other ways we can help.”
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