Irish legend Moya Brennan recently returned from a visit to South and Central America during which she performed fund raising concerts as part of her role as Goodwill Ambassador for Christian Blind Mission (CBM).

Together with football player Pelé's wife, Assiria Nascemento, Brennan travelled with CBM-backed workers into the slums of Recife, Brazil.

The nation has recently seen a huge escalation of violent street crime and kidnapping has become almost a regular form of income for some. The country also has a murder rate four times higher than the USA.

"When a large portion of the urban population lives in slums and there are 12 million children living homeless on the streets of Brazil we don't know the meaning of the word poverty," says Brennan. "I visited rat infested one room homes built from scrap wood and cardboard with whole families living on top of each other. I hope that sharing a few light-hearted moments with them brought a glimmer of hope into their hard lives."

"Blindness is an obvious handicap which sets people apart in these places", Brennan adds, "but I am thrilled to be representing an organisation which actively seeks out and treats people who are desperately marginalised by other disabilities as well."