Big Brother star searches for African child

TV2 will suddenly switch from the titillating hi-jinx of Big Brother Uncut on Monday night (June 17) to a distinctive Big Brother perspective on Africa.

Back on screen will be Ben Williams, the ultimate winner of the original Big Brother series in Australia - a win which turned Ben into a major celebrity on both sides of the Tasman.

But three years earlier as an unknown 19 year old labourer, Ben had lain on a couch watching TV, when up popped an ad urging him to sponsor a child.

Ben took the opportunity and began sponsoring nine year old Michael from a oor rural village in northern Uganda.

Ben faithfully continued to sponsor over the succeeding years but sometimes wondered if the money ever got through or made a real difference to Michael's life.

Following his sudden emergence into the limelight, Ben decided to put his mind at rest. He made a call to aid agency World Vision and said he would like to make a visit.

Australia's Channel 10 was quick to see the potential for television and tagged along to make the documentary "Big brother, Little Brother".

It charts Ben's emotional odyssey through Africa in search of Michael. On the way he encounters some of the world's most impoverished communities- some devastated by Aids, others wracked by water-borne disease. But he also encounters the enthusiasm and natural warmth of Africa's children.

Through it all Ben pressed on to meet Michael.

"They say one person can't change the world, I just hoped I was changing the world for one person," Ben says.

Big Brother, Little Brother screens on Monday (June 17) on TV2 at 10.30pm