NORTH Yorkshire artist Sarah Güsten-Marr will be holding an open day with a difference at her gallery.

Besides showing a collection of her own paintings, there will be a room filled with photographs of orphans from Ghana.

These children, all two dozen of them, aged from one to 24, are close to her heart.

They are orphaned refugees from Liberia - who have found shelter in the nearbyAfrican state. But they have a meagre existence. They live in a very basic building with no running water and few creature comforts.

Their plight came to light when they were visited by Sarah Güsten-Marr, an artist based in North Yorkshire, who is originally from Liberia. She as orphaned as a baby and brought up by a German family.

She knows she was one of the lucky ones and now runs various charity and artistic ventures to support orphans in that region of Africa.

On Saturday, May 21, she will be throwing open the doors of Gallery GM at Dykelands Farm, Whenby, where people can see her work and find out more about the orphans. That day, she will also be taking a collection of unwanted, good-quality, children's clothes that will be sent directly to the orphanage. Sarah will be visiting later in May, and can take a suitcase of goods with her. The rest will be posted.

She said: "Please be respectful. We don't want anything too old. We need all different sizes - but not sweaters as it is warm there all year round!"

Items such as t-shirts, leggings and shoes would be welcome, she adds. Umbrellas and pack-a-macs would be useful too as there is heavy rain at times.

"Everything will be used. And the children will appreciate everything." Sarah would also welcome single, cotton bedsheets to cover the scrappy mattresses the children sleep on.

Visitors will be offered refreshments during the day.

They will also learn of Sarah's latest project: Cultural Crossings. As part of it, Sarah has established a "community service" programme for the orphans. If they take part in a range of agreed projects such as helping with local elders or cleaning up discarded plastic on the beach they can earn a regular bursary for the orphanage which can help pay for food and other things they need.

At the end of each programme, there will be an awards ceremony, where the children will be celebrated and enjoy a tea party - featuring Yorkshire Tea and shortbread biscuits.

"It is something so simple to us, yet a delicacy to them," says Sarah.

The children will also take part in drumming lessons, as Sarah believes music and art are great escapes for people with limited opportunities.

Sarah says the refugee orphans have it doubly hard as they have no parents nor country: they have been abandoned twice. They rely on philanthropy to get by and are looked after by a loving African woman who runs the orphanage on a hand-to-mouth basis.

Sarah said: "It is really tough. The children are really sweet and they love their 'mama' but orphanages in Liberia have more - and Ghana is supposed to be a modern country."

She fears the orphaned refugees are thought of as a burden by people in Ghana, and wants to change that perception. She hopes her Cultural Crossings programme can go some way to achieving that She said: "When people see them working in the community, I hope they think: 'wow, these Liberian refugee children are doing good work'. It's about making communities come together and that's why it is called Cultural Crossings."

Gallery GM will be open to collect items on Saturday, May 21, from 10am-4 pm at Dykelands Farm, Whenby, York, YO61 4SF