A few years ago, there seemed no reason why two lives on separate Yorkshire farms should ever come together. Even less likely was the thought that the beneficiaries of them teaming up would live a world away from the business of livestock rearing on the Wolds and Yorkshire coast.

Chrissy White felt happy where she was. Her future was mapped out and she was convinced she would see out her days as a farmer's wife at Staintondale, helping out with the cattle and lambing to a backdrop of glorious sea views. "The quality of life was such that I thought they'd carry me away from there in my box," she recalls.

Down at Millington, near Pocklington, Chris Henshaw envisaged the rest of his life panning out in broadly similar terms. He was middle-aged and deeply-rooted where he was. He had never even been out of Britain and his horizons didn't really stretch much further than the pastures of his sheep and cows and the demands of the bank.

But things didn't turn out for either of them as expected. At time went by, Chris and Chrissy discovered the lives they were leading left them unfulfilled in ways they had never quite realised. The eventual outcome was the break-up of their respective marriages. Both left their farms. Six years ago, the two met, quite by chance. They discovered the turmoil they had been through had reshaped their values and outlook. What they had in common now was a desire to look beyond themselves. The consequence of their shared sense of mission can be seen today in the difference they are making in Kenya to the lives of children who had no hope. Listening to them in the cottage they share at Sawdon, near Scarborough, the couple tell an uplifting story. Chris, in particular, still seems amazed that he's become a part of it, despite the map of Africa on the kitchen wall that reminds them of the personal journey they have undertaken.

His description of what brought him to this may be indelicate, but the meaning is clear. "I spent too many years with my hand up sheep's backsides."

Chrissy, now 57, was the catalyst for change after her domestic upheavals. She set out on charity bike rides to India and Madagascar to raise money for Lepra, an organisation which helps victims of leprosy and other diseases. On Chrissy's second fund-raising trip to the island, Chris went with her. It was his first time abroad and he had a slightly ludicrous and uncomfortable introduction to the realities of the Third World. Leaving the the airport, he suddenly had to answer a call of nature in the undergrowth. For that he found himself under arrest and had to pay the equivalent of a £30 bribe to avoid a spell in jail.

The familiarity and security of the Wolds had never seemed so far away. Back home in Yorkshire, Chris spends his time restoring three cottages at Wetwang – bought with his share from the sale of the family farm. For her part, Chrissy earns a living helping to deliver lambs and milking. But the couple's thoughts are never far from Africa.

Chrissy developed a passion for the continent during another physically-demanding trip – this time a nine-month journey from Cape Town to Cairo by bicycle, canoe, bus and truck.

What she saw made her keen to do voluntary work – but she says the bigger charities were unreceptive to her offers of help out in the field. The options open to her seemed to be either office work or fund-raising. Then, two years ago, she heard about Hope for Children. It's a small charity with just four staff in the UK. Its approach is to work through local partners in 20 countries, filling the gaps left by large aid organisations.

It encourages self-help projects and when Chrissy became a volunteer she was sent to Kenya. Her job was to assess applications for low-cost funding to provide books, medicines, sewing machines for making school uniforms, and seeds for food production.

In Kenya, a contact asked her to visit an orphanage in a Nairobi slum run by a couple called Zablon and Gladys.

They have three children of their own but then took in two sisters whose parents had died of Aids. Things snowballed and by the time that Chrissy arrived on the scene in Nairobi, Zablon and Gladys were caring for 32 orphans in a mud hut with a tin roof.

Despite their best efforts, the conditions they lived in were wretched. They were made worse by corruption, violence and cultural attitudes towards sex which actually makes the Aids epidemic worse. So it was decided to move the extended family of Zablon and Gladys, who are members of the Luo tribe, to an area around Kosele near Lake Victoria, the Luo homeland.

"It is important orphans are home and family-based if possible as there is no welfare state," says Chrissy. "It is up to families to support each other. Although corruption is rife there are so many people doing much out of the goodness of their hearts, like Gladys and Zablon. Most of the orphans are on their own because of Aids. The disease is rife and it is being made worse because of the stigma. It is important that young girls get shelter quickly, particularly if they are coming up to puberty. I know of one orphaned youngster who was raped while struggling to look after her siblings and became HIV positive as a result."

Aids is made worse by the tradition of men marrying brothers' widows – so the disease is swiftly transmitted through a family. The women can't persuade their menfolk to use condoms. Chrissy adds, "When we started we didn't anticipate spending so much money, but to see the children there is so humbling. They have become brothers and sisters to each other and there is never any squabbling."

Hope for Children doesn't fund building projects directly, though it helps in other ways. So the Yorkshire partnership took up the main practical challenge. They purchased a fertile two-acre plot and last summer Chris put his renovations at Wetwang on hold and set off for Kenya to start to build brick premises with nine rooms to accommodate the orphan community which is known as Gladycare.

He recruited the local unemployed to give him a hand, paying them above the local rate and they responded by working from crack of dawn and sometimes by moonlight. Chris sought out materials, installed solar panels and called in experts to sink a 250ft bore hole to provide clean water. The next step is to provide a nursery school on the site.
The little community is already nearly self-sufficient in food. They are growing cabbages, maize, millet and coriander, will soon be adding tomatoes, spinach, and potatoes. There are chickens and a couple of goats.

Chris and Chrissy have each spent £10,000 of their own money on the project so far. The ambitious relocation from Nairobi almost didn't happen. It coincided with Kenya's post-election violence which brought the country to the brink of civil war. At one point the orphans' bus had to hide in a sugar cane field because of attacks nearby.

Chrissy was caught up in the turmoil. The plan was for her to fly over to oversee the community's transfer to the new location. But she had to land in Tanzania and – ever resourceful – hitched a lift through the Serengeti to reach her destination. It was a terrifying time. "Kenyans I knew had gone missing and I heard first-hand stories of people being hacked to death." She's preparing for a return visit soon, in part financed by the £10-an-hour she earns helping ewes through difficult births in the North York Moors National Park. They are Scots and mules – it's a messy task but every lamb means that more can be done in Kenya.
The couple give talks in village halls to help raise funds and, at 55 and with four grandchildren, Chris is also running marathons to boost income.

He said: "Going to Madagascar was a turning point for me. It was a humbling experience and made me realise how spoon-fed most kids are in this country.

"Once Chrissy sets her mind on something, you can't help yourself. In Kenya, once I saw the children and how they were existing, I said 'Okay, let's get going'. I've been swept along, and the work is incredibly satisfying.

"I would never have been able to do any of this if I'd still been farming, but the skills it gave me help. Farmers are practical. They know how to build something, how to use a spirit level and assess a piece of land. They're the best people to take with you on projects like this. And there's another advantage – farmers are always trying to save a few bob."

That's a great plus for a shoestring operation like Hope for Children. Chris and Chrissy are surprised by the number of four-wheel drive vehicles used by large aid groups working in Africa. The couple prefer public transport wherever possible, or even a bike. It cuts costs and also has the benefit of drawing them closer to the community they're helping. Chrissy, who has a son and daughter in their 20s, says: "Overall I've been very lucky and wanted to give something back. You can't take all your life."

Hope for Children can be contacted at www.hope4c.org. Money for Gladycare should be specified or sent directly to Chrissy White at Wayside, Sawdon, near Scarborough.