Former businessman Phillip Rego decided to sell his company this year and funnel his time and energy not into retirement, but charity work.

The 50-year-old Bermudian now finds himself helping children in some of the poorest countries in the world, including Haiti, Peru and Kenya, through his fund-raising activities.

Here are some facts on Haiti and Peru.

Haiti — the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere was the first Caribbean state to gain independence when it broke away from France in 1804.

It has been plagued with violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, an interim government took office to organise new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally inaugurated a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006.

Then just this year and further adding to Haiti's problems two hurricanes and two tropical storms hit the Island in less than a month. These storms caused nearly $1 billion in damage and killed 800 people devastating an already struggling economy.

Haiti's capital is Port-au-Prince and the Island has a population of 9.6 million people.

* 75 percent of the population live on less than $2 a day and 80 percent live below the poverty line.

* 10 percent of the population die before they are four-years-old.

* Thirty percent of the population are ill or underweight

* Forty percent of Haitians are illiterate.

Peru is located on the Pacific Ocean side of South America, it gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces were defeated in 1824.

After years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency.

The 1990 election of President Alberto Fujimori saw a turnaround in the economy and crackdown on guerrilla activity.

He was ousted in 2000 and a caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001. Alejandro Toledo became the new head of government — Peru's first democratically elected president of Native American ethnicity.

Peru's capital is Lima and has a population of 27.9 million.

* It has a gross national income per capita of US $3,450.

* It has a gross domestic product per capita of $7,600.

* Peru was until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf (what is made into cocaine) producer and is now the second behind Colombia.