WHEN Rhoose woman Tina Evans witnessed tiny babies suffering from Aids at the Casisi Orphanage in Zambia a year ago, she was so touched by what she saw that she vowed to go back and make a difference.

So now Tina is in the process of packing her 100kg-baggage allowance full of essential items for babies and children, and will be getting on a flight to the African country at the end of the month. Tina, who manages a team of support workers at the Amy Evans Centre in Barry, went to Zambia with her partner Mark Davies last year.

Mark, a support worker and a singer, was asked by the Rotary Club of Lusaka to go out there and perform a tribute to Neil Diamond to raise funds.

Tina, aged 46, said: "When I went over there, I didn't expect to see what I saw. When I saw the babies, they were warm and comfortable, but dying of aids. As I watched them, I was crying uncontrollably but I decided then I had to make a difference."

Tina said that when she returned home after her visit, she was on a mission to raise as much money as possible for the orphanage.

Sister Mariola, the nun who runs the home, works tirelessly to raise funds to keep the orphanage going after funding was drastically cut in 2002.

When Tina got back, she organised a gig which fetched 1,100, a barbecue in the summer in Porthkerry Park which raised 163, and another gig, held last week in the Sea View Club, which raised at least 1,200.

Tina is leaving for Zambia with Mark on November 30.