If it were not for her gran, Matilda - an 11-year-old girl from Malawi, Africa - would be destitute, homeless and always hungry.

By the time Matilda was eight years old she had lost both parents. These days she finds it hard to remember a lot of details about her mum and dad, who were poor but managed. The reality now is that Matilda lives with her grandmother, who is a frail lady with little to offer other than her love for her grandchild.

The struggle to survive for both is a fairly overwhelming everyday challenge. Gran is doing the very best she can, but due to the scourge of AIDS amongst the adult population she has been left with a lot of grandchildren to care for - there are at least six children living in her small hut and all need to be fed and clothed.

Matilda certainly does her bit. She carries water from the well, pounds maize, washes plates, and helps in the garden to grow food. But when a family group is under this much pressure the things that get sacrificed are school costs and medicines. When this happens Matilda's prospects of escaping poverty are likely to be closed forever.

Fortunately Plan – a child centred community development agency is working with Matilda's community and together they have a program to help extended families cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS which has already infected more than 29 million people in Africa, left 20 million dead, and 12 million children orphaned.

“A key step is to make sure that vulnerable families have enough to eat, not through handouts, but through livelihood improvements that provide income generating training and resources such as for home vegetable gardens,” says Ian Wishart, Plan Australia National Executive Director.

As well as Africa , Plan, through child sponsorships and donations, also assists children and their families escape poverty and have access to health care and education in Central and South America , India and Asia . Projects include building schools, health centres and housing, providing resources for health and education, clean water and sanitation, agricultural training and equipment and funding micro-businesses to help families become self-sufficient.

Plan Australia 's Asia Region Coordinator Lisa Schultz said once the community's project goals have been reached, Plan then moves on to work with other communities in need of assistance.

“As a child-centered community development organisation, sponsorship of a child through Plan does not just go to one child and that child's family. The money funds a number of projects chosen by the community to help the whole community.”

Mrs Schultz said visits by the sponsor to meet the child and their family are also encouraged by Plan.

“For the sponsor it is a great opportunity to see first hand how their contribution is making a difference,” she said. “And it is always a big occasion for the sponsored child, their family and the village.”

“Often the whole village comes to meet the sponsors and it turns their sponsor's correspondence into reality. The family can see that there is someone on the other side of the world who cares.

“The visit is also an opportunity for the community to learn how people live in Australia.

“They are always full of questions about how we live and how this relates to their way of life. They want to know about our agriculture and if we have the same services that are being developed in their community.

Mrs Schultz said many Australians would be surprised to learn that people in developing countries are so very much just like us. “We all want the same things in life for our children, family and community.”