A fundraiser from Easton accompanied an African children's choir to No 10 Downing Street to perform for the Prime Minister.

Dionne Rees, 32, who runs her own events management company visited Gordon Brown, his wife Sarah and Children's Secretary Ed Balls with the Destiny Africa Children's Choir this week.

The choir, aged between eight and 16, performed at Kensington Baptist Church in Easton last month as part of a tour to raise money for the Kampala Children's Centre in Uganda where they live.

The centre opened in 2005 and Miss Rees held a fundraiser at the time which made more than £1,000 towards setting up a new school at the centre.

Miss Rees then travelled to Uganda and spent four months assisting with the set-up of the vital facility 10 miles west of Kampala.

Miss Rees said: "It was fantastic. The children were full of energy, really excited and you could tell that they were really enjoying singing and dancing. Some of them also told their stories.

"It was great to meet the Prime Minister and his wife. They were very nice people and Gordon Brown spent time talking to each of the children.

"There was one boy in particular who said he wants to be Prime Minister of Uganda and Gordon Brown was very encouraging.

"Kerry McCarthy introduced me and told him I worked at the orphanage and he said he thought the work they did was amazing and that he would do what he could to support it.

"These children have been through some things that most people will never have to experience, yet they are still so positive.

"People can be so gloomy sometimes that it really sucks the life out of you but these children breath it back in wherever they go."

The Kampala Children's Centre provides enough room for at least 1000 children, many of whom come from war-torn Uganda or have been orphaned by parents dying from Aids.

Bristol East MP, Kerry McCarthy, who was also at the performance at No. 10 and went to the choir's Bristol concert, said: "The children are brilliant performers and it is amazing to see how resilient they are.

"Some of them have suffered horrendous experiences in their short lives, including seeing their parents killed by rebels, and yet they are full of joy and hope for the future.

"It was obvious the Prime Minister and his wife were deeply moved by watching the performance and hearing their stories."

The children's choir is touring the UK to raise awareness of the centre and its work.