Angelina Jolie says her children motivate her humanitarian work

NEW YORK (AP) _ Ask Angelina Jolie about her children and like any proud mother, she'll brag about them. <br/><br/>``They give me so much joy, and I want to make a better world for them,''

Tuesday, September 13th 2005, 12:21 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Ask Angelina Jolie about her children and like any proud mother, she'll brag about them.

``They give me so much joy, and I want to make a better world for them,'' the Oscar-winning actress said in an interview that aired Tuesday on ABC's ``Good Morning America.''

Jolie has a 4-year-old son Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia, and a daughter, Zahara, adopted this summer from Ethiopia.

When she brought Zahara home, ``she was 6 months old and not 9 pounds,'' Jolie said. ``Her skin, you could squeeze it, it stuck together. Like _ it was terrifying. Just to see the difference what food and the right kind of _ just a little bit of care takes.

``She's like _ she has gained 6 pounds. ... We are calling her chubby. She's, you know, she's just a totally different baby.''

Jolie says Maddox loves being a big brother.

``He came to the orphanage. He saw where she was living, and he saw she needed care. Kids understand sadness and poverty and hunger.''

Jolie was accompanied by Brad Pitt, her ``Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' co-star, when she went to Ethiopia in July to pick up Zahara. Rumors of Pitt and Jolie's off-screen relationship had been circulating for months.

She appeared on the ABC morning show the day before a new MTV documentary chronicling her trip to a village in Kenya with U.N. adviser and economist Jeffrey Sachs was scheduled to premiere.

``The Diary of Angelina Jolie & Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa'' was set to air Wednesday, coinciding with the opening of the U.N. summit in New York.

``Africa is beautiful, marvelous, smart people, strong people, strong country and has a potential to be so much,'' Jolie said. ``I'd love to see Africa flourish. ... It's magnificent and it has so much hope, so much possibility.''

The 30-year-old actress, who is a U.N. goodwill ambassador, said her children motivate her to continue her humanitarian work.

``I'm fortunate to do what I get to do to be here, to talk about these issues,'' she said. ``I'm just grateful every day that I have the chance.''