A team of 12 from a church in Surrey spent time making a difference last Christmas for needy street children in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tens of thousands have died and millions been displaced in nine years of civil war and atrocities which crippled Sierra Leone and in particular the capital, Freetown, from 1991-2000.

The team of 12, including three teenagers travelling abroad for the first time, spent 12 days alongside Mission Direct building accommodation for the St George's Foundation to enable 100 children a year to leave the streets, receive medical attention and counselling and re-enter education.

St Wilfrid's raises money every year to support the communities in Freetown through the various projects partnered by Mission Direct including the St George's Foundation. Worshippers collect aid and gifts including clothes and toys, windup torches, crutches and over-thecounter medicines like paracetamol. This year the volunteers contributed £18,000 to project funds, and Laurence Brooks, MD of Banner Financial Services Group Limited and one of the group recalls: "I first visited Sierra Leone on a short-term mission trip in 2004, and I was horrified to witness the hundreds of maimed people who had lost their limbs in the conflict. Having now worked with Mission Direct for a number of years I know all the money we raise in the UK will go directly to improving the opportunities and life skills of these brutalised children - it is invaluable help."

The St George's Foundation focuses on the care of under-14s who are most vulnerable and orphaned as a result of the brutal civil war. Many have been abandoned after being used as young soldiers in the rebel army. It is here that a new centre is being built to give a home to these street kids, giving them the chance to live the childhood that war deprived them of.

It was here that the team met Adele, a British woman who has devoted her life to finding solutions for the children under her care at St George's. In association with other local organisations, the Foundation has a great record in tracing families and friends. The children are reintegrated with their family where possible, and local school fees are paid to see their opportunities are maximised. Counsellors follow up these children in their resettled environment on a regular basis. The hearts of all the volunteers were touched by the plight of local tradesman Mohammed who was working with them. His mother and two brothers were killed in the war. He had received a hospital bill for his father of £160, and it was plain to see that on his salary of 50p a day, this insurmountable burden was crippling him. So the church group clubbed together to pay it for him. The relief on his face and in his general bearing was immediate and evident for all to see. A small gift at Christmas time.

Mission Direct also supports the local church school, Hope Christian School, and to celebrate the arrival of the St Wilfrid's group the children performed their nativity play under the watchful eye of head teacher Pastor Joseph (Mary inexplicably gave birth to a blue rabbit!). Pastor Joseph is passionate about the school which has performed well in all national exams. Children, many from Muslim backgrounds, are taught the Christian faith and places are highly sought after.

As the number of overseas mission projects undertaken by churches like St Wilfrid's increases, as does their responsibility for ensuring the self-funded teams are suitably insured for the work they are expecting to undertake. Called to assist in war zones and areas of unrest these volunteers are certainly not on holiday, and need specialist insurance to cover their emergency medical and travel needs.