ORPHANED children who had lost everything in a fire were helped by a team of volunteers from Horsforth.

The six South African youngsters were left with nothing to sleep on, and no electricity to cook with after bad wiring caused a fire which gutted their home.

But the British visitors came to their assistance, doing what they could to help and constructing beds for them.

The children were just some of those helped by a team of 18 people who set off from Horsforth to take part in the 18 days trip to the valley of a thousand hills.

Team Leader Duncan Stowe said those taking part represented many more from their community who had responded to the need in Ngclolosi, South Africa.

Fundraising events back home enabled the team to take thousands of pounds to the charity Sethani which supports a community decimated by the AIDS epidemic.

It is the third time in four years that a Horsforth group has visited to work with the charity whose focus is to support children who have been orphaned.

"With a population of around 26,000 not dissimilar to Horsforth, the Ngcolosi community has very different challenges to ours, " Duncan said: "The infection rate of HIV amongst adults is said to be as high as 60per cent, it is the almost the norm to grow up as an orphan."

"Sethani which stands for work, pray and give began its work in 1994, after founder and former social worker Debbie Wells stumbled across a bright and talented girl who couldn’t go to school because she couldn’t afford a school uniform. She was one of twelve orphaned children from different sets of parents who her GOGO( Grandma ) was left to look after. Debbie found this story repeated all over the valley and felt compelled to give up her job and set up Sethani. Twenty years on, Sethani seeks to offer a bit of stability to the community, through its community centre, orphan outreach program, nursery, library and youth outreach programs."

The Horsforth team - the third in the last four years - travelled out with gifts from their community.

"Children at Horsforth school raised over £7000 through events such as swimming galas, come dine with me events and a Horsforth’s got talent night. They also decided to participate in a rice fast where they would only eat one bowl of rice over 24 hours to experience for a day what others experience every day of their lives. Ducklings nursery raised money to buy resources for the Nursery including the gift of a parachute which all their children drew their handprints on. Other money raised by local churches meant over £10000 was taken with the good wishes of the Horsforth community," Duncan said.

"The team received a warm welcome from the staff and people but the reality of the huge challenges were never far away. On the first day we heard of a teenager who had died after falling out of the back of a pick up whose brakes had failed, about the child led family whose house had been gutted and the sadness the nursery was experiencing after a member of staff had died after a long struggle with sickness.

"Despite all this the children greeted us, each day with beautiful smiles shouting ‘Thala, Thala”, the Zulu word for play."

Desperately wanting to make a difference the team gave their all for two weeks.

"Working in three fluid working groups, one building, one painting and one playing with the children the team re-laid paths, put up shelving, built a small playground, decorated rooms, creating a children’s play room whilst always having lots of fun with the two hundred children who access Sethani’ each day," Duncan said.

The children of Sethani sent a decorated parachute back to Horsforth as a thank you.