Ten-year-old acid attack victim helped by Rye woman

Since that fateful meeting last year, Wendy has raised more than £3,000 for Nhi, who is blind in one eye and only has a small amount of vision in the other.

Wendy, who runs Elegant Nails in Rye, met Nhi when travelling around Vietnam and was so moved by the girl she felt she had to do something about it.

“I was appalled by what I saw, and aware that the girl’s mother was extremely poor and that in Vietnam there is no national health service, I decided to embark on a fundraising initiative to pay for essential basic medical treatment that Nhi requires,” she said.

Wendy, who is originally from Vietnam, went out to visit Nhi again in May at her home on the edge of the Mekong Delta.

By that point Nhi, now 10, had undergone surgery to help her breath properly, thanks to money raised by Wendy with help from the Park Lane Group.

However, doctors advised Wendy Nhi’s head and eye had become infected because of a lack of care and difficult living conditions, including a lack of safe clean drinking water.

This means there will be more treatment and surgery in the future for Nhi and Wendy is determined to keep raising funds.

Wendy raised £2,550 for Nhi earlier this year, with £700 from the Park Lane Group, to pay for her operation in May.

A charity which helps third-world children with facial disfigurements, Facing The World, has been approached by Wendy but it needs additional funding to support Nhi.

Wendy will taking part in the Tough Mudder Challenge in Winchester on Saturday, September 26, in a bid to raise more money for Nhi and secure the charity’s help.

She has already reached her target of £500 but hopes for even more by completing the obstacle course ‘designed to test physical strength and mental grit’.

To donate visit: www.justgiving.com/vu-wendy.

Alternatively, call 07472 643458 or visit the nail bar at 26 Landgate, Rye.

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