After dedicating his Christmas to building a roof at a children's shelter in Peru and distributing toys to the poor, you would have thought Phillip Rego deserved a rest.

But just a few days after returning from being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the Amazonian jungle, he is off again, this time again bringing hope and cheer to the people of Haiti.

There, where the children eat "mud cakes" from the street to stave off their hunger, Mr. Rego will pursue the next phase of his mission to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Ten months ago, the 50-year-old sold his landscaping company, Ideal Homes and Gardens Ltd., to dedicate his life to helping children in developing countries. The father-of-two was inspired after meeting Charles Le Morzellec, founder of the Eden Garden Orphanage, near Port-a-Prince in Haiti.

The orphanage helps street children who are often forced into slavery to obtain food. It also serves as a school and a community centre, distributing any food it can spare and providing medical care to the impoverished community.

Since March, Mr. Rego has made three trips to Haiti, raising $20,000 for a food programme and $22,000 to put a roof on the medical clinic plus double teachers' salaries.

In November, he planted a garden with 15 plots, to be maintained by students from the orphanage.

The hope is that the beans, carrots, beets, tomatoes, pumpkins and peas will ultimately feed the wider community.

Since Mr. Rego's mission was featured in The Royal Gazette last month, the donations have poured in $21,000 was raised in just one week.

"People are still donating now," said Mr. Rego. "I'm just overwhelmed by people's generosity."

Armed with this funding, he now plans to extend the food programme overseeing the garden and paying each student $20 a month to maintain a plot.

He also intends to buy 100 large bags of rice in bulk, breaking them down into 1,000 smaller 10 lb bags for distribution to villagers.

Mr. Rego will also paint the medical clinic and extend treatment to the community. Currently a doctor visits for four hours a day, five days of the week, offering free medical care, but many people are fighting for their lives through diseases such as Aids and malaria.

"We also want to start a feeding programme for the kids coming to school from the village," said Mr. Rego. "Many go three to four days without food. They even eat mud down there, you ought to see them eating mud cakes."

He said: "Seventy percent of people are living below the poverty level, and half of the population are just kids.

"There's so much child slavery, and these kids are traumatised. Many have no mother, no father and no direction in life."

But it's the look in these children's eyes which most drives him.

"The look in their eyes is one of emptiness," he said. "They see themselves in a situation which is totally hopeless."

Mr. Rego plans to make "several" more visits to Haiti this year, extending his food programme and medical care at the clinic.

He also aims to install a $12,500 solar power system to produce more electricity at the orphanage.

An additional three expeditions will be made to the town of Iquitos in Peru.

Inspired by his experiences, this Christmas the Rego family cancelled their annual skiing holiday. Instead, Mr. Rego, his wife Maria, son Adam, daughter Ashley and son-in-law Florin volunteered for the 'People of Peru Project'.

The family put a roof on the dormitory of a girls' shelter, handed out 200 bags of toys to the children of Iquitos and delivered 60 food baskets to villagers 45 miles upstream the Amazon River.

The Regos were also joined by Monica Pitt, a Bermudian student, who added another $2,000 to the $8,000 in funding raised by Mr. Rego.

It was a "special Christmas", which inspired both his son and daughter, said Mr. Rego.

"It changed them," he said. "Adam now wants to come to Haiti to help out during his Spring Break, and Ashley also wants to do more mission work.

"When you see these children you realise sometimes helping people is the way to go, it's not about yourself."

If you would like to help, email Mr. Rego at: feedmylambsministry@gmail.com or telephone 535 8934. You can also donate directly to the charity's Bank of Bermuda account at: 010305498012.