FORMER BBC war correspondent Martin Bell OBE visited the Island yesterday (Friday) in his position as UNICEF UK Ambassador.
The former journalist was in the Island to highlight the work done by the charity to the Isle of Man's Overseas Aid Committee.
The Committee are responsible for funding overseas development aid projects and donations to disaster appeals.
In the last few years they have committed in the region of £400,000 to £500,000 of tax payers money to UNICEF.
Most recently funding has gone towards an immunisation project in Liberia which Martin said "has saved and is saving lives".
Martin discussed the work that the charity does as well as his recent trip to Yemen with the Committee.
He said: "It's been a great privilege to explain our work to the Committee. They are very important to us and just talking about UNICEF gets me really inspired.
"We've given them a presentation on Yemen - one of these silent emergencies – six wars in six years that no one's heard about.
"I showed them my first ever report for ITN in 40 years of television journalism, which gave me enormous pleasure, but the real heart of it was the plight of the kids.
"More than half of the citizens of Yemen are under 18 and 205,000 children were driven out of their homes by conflict.
"We showed the case of one nine year old girl who was suffering from severe post
traumatic stress disorder. I've never seen anyone so deep inside herself, so lost, not knowing who she was or where she was.
Martin said that the money donated to UNICEF was integral to these situations. He said: "You are overwhelmed by a sense of sometimes despair and then sometimes hope.
"You see and meet the most amazing heroic individuals - the UNICEF staff, both national and international, are just absolutely inspiring."
Phil Gawne Chairman of the Isle of Man Overseas Aid Committee said: "We're delighted to have Martin Bell and UNICEF in the Isle of Man.
"The Isle of Man Overseas Aid Committee has agreed a multi year grant which is in the region of £300,000, over a three year period, to go to the UNICEF projects.
"We are very pleased with our part of this working relationship."
Also see: Martin Bell: "I find so much going on that the world hardly knows about - INTERVIEW
