WITH a whopping total of 54 grandchildren between them, it would be fair to expect Rita Varey, Melanie Price, Betty Price and Rose Roberts to feel entitled to put their feet up and enjoy being spoiled by their families.

But instead the fab foursome are globetrotting grannies, taking aid all over the world to those in need.

Back in 1990 Rita Varey, from Little Lever, and Melanie Price, from Radcliffe, watched a television programme about Romanian orphans.

Moved by the children's plight, the two women decided they had to help. They approached Hope Hospital for donations of medical supplies, and soon found themselves driving two trucks across Europe to deliver the precious aid.

"Rita had never even read a map before, but we took 32 tonnes of stuff out, in two lorries," says Melanie, aged 55. "It took us four days to get there and we had the most amazing adventure you could ever imagine.

"And when we saw the horrendous conditions of the children we just decided that we had to do something to make a difference."

"We thought, We have to do something about these poor children,'" added 66-year-old Rita.

And so the four grandmothers decided to form the Sunflower Trust to co-ordinate aid efforts all over the world with the help of donations.

Nearly two decades after that first trip, the four grandmothers have helped children in Romania, Hungary, India, Montenegro, Serbia and the Philippines.

"Sometimes it's dangerous, but you either do it or you don't," says Rita. "We don't go with fear in us. If you listen to a lot of people, they'll tell you it's more dangerous than it is."

Their most recent adventure was in India last month, when they visited orphans whose lives had been devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

"It's very dirty and very poor, but most of the people were lovely. It's a different world out there, they don't have the facilities that we have here. We've seen what poverty has been about before, so we weren't shocked about it," said Rita.

Melanie said: "When the tsunami first hit I answered an appeal from a young man who had taken orphans into his home. He sent me more information about what he was doing, and in January, 2007, I went out to see the orphans.

"When I saw the place for myself, I thought, wow, my goodness! He'd been using the money in the very best way, buying food and educating the children.

"And I said, We're going to do something.' I came back and showed my family the pictures and told them how his vision was to build an orphanage and to buy a herd of water buffalo.

"So now the building is built, the children are very happy in their new home, and we've got seven water buffalo. The vision is that the water buffalo eventually will be the business that supports the orphanage."

Self-sufficiency is one of the many goals of the Sunflower Trust's projects, which are numerous. In the Philippines they helped a community to set up a fishing business, and are currently raising money to buy a boat, which they will then send to the village.

Melanie said: "It's lovely, lovely work. We don't have any big organisations supporting us or sponsoring us, we're very free, and the surprising thing is that it's worked - and we're as surprised as everyone else!

"We're very fortunate. We live in a beautiful country and we have plenty ourselves. And we feel that to make a difference in the world we need to do our bit. And the amazing thing is that it' growing!

"We don't take any money out ourselves but it makes us very happy, it's given us a life worth living and we've definitely, positively made a difference."

Modestly, Rita added: "It's not a big organisation, it's just four grandmothers. But the difference that 'just four grandmothers' have made to the lives of the orphans and lepers in India and across the world is an inspiration to many."

And Rita says that she would rather spend time with the children they help than on pampering herself.

"The children are lovely," she said. "They're just quiet and well behaved, not rowdy. They're well looked after, that's one good thing, and they appreciate simple things - if it's only a toffee lollipop they sit quietly and wait for you to give it to them - they don't grab like our kids do!

"It's a wonderful way to live, I love it. I'd rather do that than go on a holiday to America or wherever."

And Melanie added: "We're a Christian organisation, and we come from Christian values, but that's neither here nor there because some of our orphans are Hindus, some are Muslims. We're just talking about humans and children here."