A hairdressing assessor’s trip to her home country, Burma, inspired her to set up a charity to help children there.

My Mu Win, who works at Kingston College, visited a village in Kawhmu Aung Zabu last year, where the monastery school and youth centre had been devastated by cyclone Nargis.

She was welcomed by a Burmese monk caring for 300 orphaned children in his compound.

She said: “Seeing them, talking with them, and knowing their unfortunate fate touched my heart. I wondered what I can do to help them.

“The idea of giving them a vocational skill - basic hairdressing skills, which may help them to stand on their own feet came to my mind.”

On returning to the UK, she set about raising funds, working weekends and sacrificing family time, and managed to raise £3,000 cutting hair.

She then returned to Burma in the summer to start her work with the students.

A group of eight boys and 12 girls attended her five-day course.

The money raised went towards construction materials to build salon equipment including chairs, mirrors, clips, combs, basins, towels and gowns.

Ms Win said: “This achievement gave me confidence to help the less fortunate children in various parts of our country which I determined to do every year.”