Milano's South African Humane Effort

Actress Alyssa Milano has become the latest celebrity United Nations heroine after giving up her holiday time in South Africa to help out at a struggling children's hospital.

The "Charmed" star is to be presented with a UN humanitarian award after news of her generosity reached officials.

Milano was in South Africa filming an American TV mini-series in 2000, when she decided to make the most of her downtime.

She says, "It tapped the humanitarian side I knew I must have. I didn't want to use my celebrity to simply gain publicity for a charitable cause by just walking through a hospital or whatever, as so many celebrities seem to do.

"I wanted the hands-on experience of holding a sick child, of actually doing good."

The actress admits the experience made returning to her native Los Angeles difficult.

She adds, "I had such a hard time looking at all the photos I had shot in South Africa - so many of them were heart-rending."

Milano has handed the photos over to officials at African AIDS charity Nkosi's Haven, who plan to auction them off to raise funds.