Mischa Barton has lent her name to and joined Save the Children’s Board of Celebrities for the Rewrite the Future campaign. The effort is expected to bring in millions of dollars in donations for impoverished and war-stricken children.

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The cause has taken on personal significance for Mischa since visiting school children in the poverty-stricken township in Soweto.

“I visited a primary school in Soweto, where a lot of the children are orphans and there is a high incidence of AIDS,” Barton reveals. “I helped prepare and serve lunch to the children; it’s just simple maize and for many it’s the only meal they get. We chatted and I took part in their class. They are heartbreakingly beautiful children!”

Barton hopes that her work with Save the Children will result in a new irrigation system for Soweto, along with tools to allow the township to grow its own food.

Notes Barton, “I feel so privileged that I could just meet [the children] and hope to make a difference!”

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Today she’s just come back from South Africa, where she visited a school in Soweto as part of her role as ambassador for Save the Children. She describes the trip as “life-changing” and her work for the charity as a “calling”.

“I went to see this little boy, Tembinkosi,” she tells me. “He was so sweet and shy. He was only eight . . . He has no toys. He sleeps on the floor in a room full of dirt and he only gets one meal a day. It was terrible. But if I can raise money, that will make a difference.”

So another photogenic star uses vulnerable children in Africa for a profile boost between film projects? “Well, if cynical journalists think that, I think that’s pretty jaded and sad,” Barton retorts. “If someone takes the time to actually go, I don’t think people sitting on their bums writing articles have the right to say anything, actually.”

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I am Mischa Barton. I work with Save the Children to get 10 million people to take action by 2010 for the 10 million children who die every year. In my name, I want governments to help save the children who are dying needlessly every year before their 5th birthday.

After taking in the Temperley London show on Monday, Mischa Barton kicked back at the designer’s after-party at trendy members club Bungalow 8.”I’m taking a bit of time out being in London seeing friends and family,”she said. Having just finished her second line of handbags and headbands for her collection with accessories designer Stacey Lapidus, Barton said she would start shooting a new film in November titled “Nepal” opposite actor Charlie Sheen. “I will be filming in India, which will be exciting,” she said.