A BERMUDIAN woman who has helped raise thousands of dollars for tsunami victims in Asia has just returned from another charitable mission ? educating children in Afghanistan on the dangers of landmines.

Clare Allen joined the No Strings aid project ? a collaboration between Bermudian Muppet maestros Michael Frith and Katheryn Mullen and Irish humanitarian Johnie McGlade ? in Kabul earlier this year after meeting up with them in Sri Lanka.

Ms Allen was on holiday with her family in Sri Lanka when the tsunami struck on Boxing Day, 2004, and, after witnessing "such terrible scenes of devastation and death", felt compelled to act.

As a result she and five others set up the charity Rebuilding Sri Lanka. It was while in Sri Lanka that she came across the No Strings charity, which was using puppet films to educate the young about tsunamis.

"I was really interested in their pilot project to educate children about the tsunami and invited them down to our Child Resource Centre on the east coast," Ms Allen, speaking from her home in Wiltshire, southwest England, said.

"It was there that I met Kathy and Michael and after some conversation it transpired that we were all Bermudian. Amazing serendipity!"

Mr. Frith was Dr. Seuss' editor at Random House before joining Muppet founder Jim Henson's Henson Associates in the 1970s as creative director. In that capacity, the Bermudian artist / writer / producer co-created such iconic Muppet characters as Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear.

His wife Katheryn Mullen is a veteran puppeteer who also wrote the script for No Strings' Afghan landmine-awareness video , a free adaptation of Pinocchio tailored to Afghan cultural and folkloric traditions.

Back in London, Ms Allen once again met up with Mr. McGlade who told her about the organisation's latest mission ? to deliver two e-ranger media cycles to Afghanistan. The cycles are a multi-terrain vehicle equipped with full media apparatus, including a screen, DVD player, generator and speakers and are used by No Strings to show their educational films in difficult-to-reach, war-torn hotspots.

"Johnie said that they were preparing to accept delivery of the cycles in Kabul in early July and asked if I would consider coming along as the photographer," Ms Allen said.

Leading the party to Kabul was British actor Hugo () Speer, a No Strings' patron, who was on hand to officially take delivery of the motorcycles from eRanger, a British / South African / Saudi Arabian venture that builds all-terrain motorcycles for use as mobile schools and clinics in the Developing World. Mr. Speer headed to Afghanistan immediately after spending two weeks in Bermuda on a family vacation with his mother, who had worked at Waterloo House in the 1960s before returning to her native Yorkshire.

"It sounded like a plan and I was fascinated, and also a little terrified. I agreed," said Ms Allen.

"We travelled to Kabul at the beginning of July. It had been relatively calm there with only a couple of days of rioting, considered 'uncharacteristic' during the past 18 months.

"Unfortunately we arrived just as security began to lapse and within the first three days seven bombs exploded in the city centre.

"But we were very well looked after and I must say that apart from some initial trepidation entering the country ? the airport is chaos ? I felt safe at all times. The Afghan people are amongst the most gentle, hospitable, proud and courteous people I have ever met.

"I think that it is very important to respect the cultural practices of any country you are in and I adopted local dress whilst there. Not the burka, but head covered and long black shapeless kaftans. In this way you are both honouring them and helping to blend in a bit ? fairly important for a photographer in an unstable country.

"On the evening of our first pilot we travelled to a place east of Kabul called Qalazimmpr Khan. The roads had been horrific getting there, so it was optimum terrain for demonstrating the effectiveness of the bike.

"We set up in the dusty playground of a local school, creating a shelter for the screen from old Unicef tents, which served as a poignant reminder of just how many years of conflict these people have suffered and what a task there is at hand to deliver any meaningful, sustained assistance.

"On the left there was a hillside littered with flags, each one commemorating the death of a land mine victim, on the right the sun was setting behind the mountains of Kabul. In front the children transfixed by the message on their screen ? the story of Chuche Qhalin, a little carpet boy.

"The characters are incredible and huge respect to Kathy and Michael for their skill and imagination in creating them. The film has been translated in both local languages ? Dari and Pashtu.

"At the end of the film there was a question-and-answer session and the little hands all darted up in the air. Each child keen to recount what he or she had remembered from the film.

"It was a magic moment and after witnessing their reactions I believe the No Strings films are a life saving tool and the effects will be exponential. Those children will in turn tell their friends. It is undoubtedly one of the most effective and powerful means to communicate an important message to children.

"As it got dark we travelled back to Kabul and I rode as passenger on the bike. It is truly a great invention and I feel so privileged that I was involved in such a remarkable venture.

"I have such admiration for the people I travelled with. It is remarkable that the passion, determination and commitment of a handful of people can really change things. It is something that we would all do well to consider.

"Like all these initiatives, they need funds and this is a way that people can really help.

"I went to the land mine museum in Kabul. There are land mines there from over 25 countries. They estimate that there is one mine per every two people. The first time you see a child without a leg or a finger or an arm, you know that it is time to do something. These are remarkable people and they deserve some peace."

An exhibition of photographs taken by Ms Allen opens in her home city of Salisbury this weekend, with some of the proceeds going to the No Strings charity.