Pop stars' mum on mission

Molly Bedingfield in New Zealand to promote her charity, the Global Angels Foundation. Photo / Richard Robinson

Being the mother of two international singing stars has its perks.

There are free concert tickets, an endless supply of music and the guarantee they will always be willing to help Mum's cause.

Molly Bedingfield - mother to pop artists Daniel and Natasha - is the founder of the Global Angels Foundation; an international charity that aims to help communities living in extreme poverty and disadvantage.

The charity is well-known for its "100 per cent promise," under which all funds donated by the public are put directly into struggling communities in the form of tangible resources such as water wells, food, medical supplies, schools and disaster relief.

Born in Auckland and raised in Raglan, Mrs Bedingfield married husband John and the couple moved to Britain in the late 1970s.

She is in New Zealand to discuss launching the charity here and told the Herald she was lucky to have both Daniel and Natasha, as well as her other children, Nikola and Joshua, working as its ambassadors.

"I absolutely love it that they're so involved with charities - all of them. It's very much a part of their being and who they are.

"This is something we've been involved in as a family, right from the start. "We really felt that the world needed a new level of transparency and I wanted to know where my money was going."

Global Angels helps impoverished communities around the world; particularly in Africa and Asia. There are projects helping street kids and orphans, victims of trafficking - mostly women and children - and teaching villagers life skills to keep their communities sustainable.

Both Daniel and Natasha regularly visit places associated with the charity and have put on many concerts to help raise funds.

"It's pretty cool. I'm their greatest fan, I love their music. I can't take the smile off my face - I'm very proud of them," said Mrs Bedingfield.

She was very excited about Daniel's judging role in the upcoming The X Factor NZ television series. The 33-year-old, whose hits include If You're Not The One and Gotta Get Thru This, was born in New Zealand and was happy to be coming home, Mrs Bedingfield said.

"Daniel's going to be great. But everything's top secret ... you'll just have to look out for when he's coming back. I'm not allowed to say," she laughed.

Mrs Bedingfield said she hoped Kiwis would be willing to get involved with the charity. "This is the next ideal place for us. New Zealanders are so innovative ... about making a difference in the world."

On the web:
globalangels.org