When she's not dashing around the globe as super spy Anna Devane on GENERAL HOSPITAL, Finola Hughes devotes her time to making the real world a better place. She is involved in relief efforts in Darfur, the western part of Sudan. Darfur was the scene of a bloody rebellion in 2003, with rebel groups accusing the Sudanese of mass killings, looting and systematic rape of the non-Arab population, as well as burning down villages and driving survivors into refugee camps. Darfur is a major humanitarian crisis that has forced millions of innocent refugees to flee, seeking safety. Hughes feels compelled to help.

Soap Opera Weekly: How did you get involved in this effort?
Finola Hughes: It was in 2003. Nicholas Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The New York Times, wrote a piece about it. I couldn't believe what was going on in Darfur. I put something up on my Web site asking people to write to their Congressman and giving them addresses.

Weekly: Obviously, you still feel compelled to help.
Hughes: Yes. Now, it's three years later and the situation is even worse. There are 2.5 million to 3 million people living in refugee camps. Over 400,000 people have been killed. That's what got me interested in it. Then I became really good friends with a family from Darfur. I started talking to the mom one day, probably a year ago. She came over here with her children after the last war, 20 years ago.

Weekly: Your time is at a premium between GENERAL HOSPITAL, HOW DO I LOOK? and your jewelry line, Finola's Jewel Box. Is it hard to decide what cause to put your name on?
Hughes: The choice is easy. I pursued [relief efforts to Darfur], myself. There are a lot of people doing this. This is very important. I'm just trying to do what I can to help.

Weekly: What, exactly, have you been doing?
Hughes: We've started to raise money. We want to build a women's center. The idea is that women will be able to go there and make things to sell overseas and earn a living for themselves. We're planning to have some sort of agricultural support there, too, because there are just so many widows and children who need to be sustained with basics like food and shelter.

Weekly: So a support center is the first step?
Hughes: Yes. We have a lot of great support from people who go to Darfur all the time. There's an international crisis group that's there all the time, and we're in touch with them. It takes a long time to get a foundation together. That's the way I do things: Do it right and go slow. Of course, you can't really go slow, because the crisis is so huge. The situation there is devastating, and it's getting worse.

You can visit Hughes' Web site, www.finolahughes.com, for more information on how you can help.