Scarlett: We can change the world

Hollywood Star backs campaign to help poor after trip to Lanka, India:

UK: It’s the most expensive date in history but will help change the lives of some of the planet’s poorest people.

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson will have a mystery guest on her arm as she sashays down the red carpet at next month’s world premiere of her new film, He’s Just Not That Into You.

A Brit known only by the name of Bossnour splashed out pounds 25,500 at a charity auction for the chance to arrive at the screening in a chauffeur driven limousine and spend 20 minutes with the stunning actress.

It’s all to help Oxfam, a charity close to Scarlett’s heart.

An unforgettable 10-day trip to northern India and the southern coast of Sri Lanka with the charity opened Scarlett’s eyes to the fierce fight for survival people there face.

Visiting those whose lives were devastated by the tsunami made Scarlett collapse in tears. The 23-year-old has witnessed first-hand how they use donations to help change lives.

That’s why she is backing the Record’s campaign asking readers to give old compact discs and vinyl records to their local Oxfam shops.

In Galle, Bandawathi Maitipe told the star how she had little to live for after her husband and son were killed in the Boxing Day storm in 2004.

She lost her home and tailoring firm. She and remaining son Asela Abeytunga, 26, face a bleak future.

Scarlett said: “The devastation both directly and indirectly as a result of the tsunami is overwhelming.

“I went to visit a rural fishing community which Oxfam had fully irrigated, allowing people to live safely in a government development.

“After hearing such a devastating case that morning, seeing this village thrive gave me a sense of hope and progress. It was an incredible opportunity to see the grass roots approach being taken by non-governmental organisations like Oxfam towards reconstructing the lives of this devastated country.”

She said: “Once you’ve met amazing people like the Dalit girls I met you can’t turn your back. “I was shocked by a lot of what I saw, but seeing the fantastic work Oxfam is doing, I also felt that there was hope.”

Scarlett visited pupils at an Oxfam funded school deep in the countryside of Uttar Pradesh.