Urban Splash retrieved items from The Midland Hotel strip-out works in June 2005 and donated them to The Friends of the Winter Gardens' charity auction.

Christine Sowden bought various artefacts at the auction, including Lloyd Loom chairs, art deco dressing tables, glass mirrors, washbasins and a black-mirrored splash back.

At the time, Christine saw this as an opportunity to support The Friends of the Winter Gardens and merely as a personal investment, in the hope their value would appreciate.

However, after two recent trips to Africa and first-hand experience of the squalor and poverty experienced by the children of the Townships, Christine has decided to re-auction her Midland Hotel "treasures" in a bid to fund a third trip to Africa to work as a volunteer for two months later on this year.

Any additional funds raised will also help toward the postage costs for the clothes parcels that Christine has sent out to Africa on a regular basis over the last three years and continues to send.

"Nothing can prepare you for the degradation, as the shacks stretch out for miles outside the cities," said Christine.

"No running water, no electricity and a family of five cooking on a single gas burner with very little food is just one example. Once seen, it's impossible to forget. I know you can't fix the world but I decided that if I could help just one child in one community, it's a start."

Christine is hoping the high-profile reopening of the Midland Hotel will help raise awareness of her charity auction. She will be putting the Midland Hotel artefacts on eBay over the next week and is hoping to raise as much money as possible.

"I leave in November for the Baphumelele Children's Home in Cape Town – a place that provides a safe haven and loving home for street children, many of whom have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS," said Christine.

"One infants' nursery that I visited just outside of Cape Town, housed in little more than a shack, cares for up to 100 children under the age of five on a daily basis."

* Christine appeals to anyone, including local organisations, wishing to find out more or make a donation or to make a bid for any of the artefacts, to contact her directly on 01524 415461 or email c.sowden1@tiscali.co.uk