Dirk Seemann says religion plays a key role in his family - and their decision to sponsor children.

"Jenny and I have been married for 19 years. We met through my then flatmate, who attended Jenny's church. It's partly because of our religion, and desire to give back, that our family sponsors children. We regard them as family; our children write letters to them, and we include them in our prayers.

"We've visited the World Vision children overseas; I'll never forget the moment we met Ta, Amanda's Thai penfriend. She greeted us with such a beautiful smile that you couldn't help but smile back. We gave her a toy kangaroo and she carried it with her all day.

"Sponsoring encourages our kids to appreciate what they have - and they've also learnt that the sponsored children are happy even without a lot of material things. Plus, it gives them the ability to help others and know they can make a difference. That's important to all of us."

For more stories of Australian families, read the July issue of marie claire - on sale now.