Since becoming a mum it's like my eyes have been opened and I see the world so very differently. I no longer dream of dressing in designer labels (I wouldn't fit into them anyway!) or buying expensive items for the house. One day just after my first son was born I was holding him and just marvelling at the little life I'd helped create and a world vision ad came on TV. I looked up and say the faces on these tiny children and their parents suffering such devastating poverty and suddenly had a revelation. Those mothers experience the same overwhelming love for their children but due to poverty don't get to dream of whether that child will be good at sport, a doctor or a lawyer. It's like their hope has been taken away. They look at their child each day just wondering how long they will live. I couldn't bear to imagine living like that. I suddenly felt connected to those women in the third world - as mothers. I started to realise that I was incredibly blessed to be born in the Western world and that I had no choice but to do something, however small.

We chose to sponsor children the same ages as our own boys and chose them from the same village so that when they get older we can take them to visit them. We also subscribed to the world vision action email newsletter where I first learnt about CHOCOLATE. The love of my life supports child labour. I had no idea that my buying habits had any effect on people's lives especially poverty.

www.donttradelives.com.au/dtl/

I'm struggling to give it up....but it's just one little thing I can do to hopefully have a positive impact on the lives of kids in the third world. I would hope that someone would make that choice if it were my child. This is the least I can do!