Tom Hiddleston overwhelmed by UNICEF trip to West Africa
British actor Tom Hiddleston struggled to sleep during a charity trip to West Africa because he was "overwhelmed" by the sight of so many sick and malnourished children in hospital.
The Thor star travelled to Guinea in January (13) to visit communities which have been helped by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) programs, and he admits a trip to a medical centre in the capital city of Conakry was an emotional experience.
In a piece for Harper's Bazaar magazine, he writes, "(During the
visit) I was delighted, enlightened, and confused. I immediately
got a real sense of one of the biggest challenges that children
face in the country: hunger and malnutrition.
"We visited (the) National Institute of Child Health and Nutrition
(INSE) in the Donka Hospital in Conakry... (And) I was simply
overwhelmed by seeing so many small infants in such great need.
"One small ward... housed at least 20 children, some of whom had
slim chances of survival... Most shocking to me was the speed and
urgency of their breathing, asleep or awake, it was uniformly
unsettled and uneven. When you see a child struggling so hard
simply to breathe, it makes your heart hurt.
"It was tough to get to sleep that night, remembering the sight of
those children, but I had come expecting the week to be a tough
one, full of mixed emotions."
Summing up his trip, the actor adds, "Now that I am back to the
hustle and bustle of London, I miss the warmth and people of West
Africa... The week that I spent in Guinea was truly life
changing."