A TEENAGE girl from Kent who is embarking on a charity mission has been contacted by a woman who is also helping the poor in Romania.

Kirsty Hayes, 17, of Carlton Hill, Herne Bay, is planning to take Christmas toys and gifts to orphanages in the poorer parts of the Eastern European country.

Now, because of a letter sent to her from a woman who used to live in Herne Bay, she will make a detour to see her.

Clare Comper, nee Thundow, moved to the Romanian capital Bucharest 18 months ago after her husband got a job there.

She was shocked at the level of suffering among the city’s poor and quickly got involved with a charity working to help them.

She was prompted to write to Kirsty after reading about the teenager’s planned mercy mission in copies of the Gazette sent out to her by a father-in-law who still lives in the area.

In the letter to Kirsty, she wrote: “There are so many needy persons in Bucharest it’s hard to know where to start. We just hope and pray that the little we are able to do helps.

“I once asked a Catholic priest what was needed most. He said: 'Put it this way, a pair of shoes with holes in them is better than no shoes at all.’

“This just sums up the whole thing for me,” she added.

Kirsty said she found Mrs Comper’s letter so moving that she resolved to go and visit her when she sets off on her charity journey with her dad, Bob, in a few weeks’ time.

Donations of toys, gifts and money towards the mercy mission are still required.

St Anne’s Surgery in Station Road recently helped out with a donation of 15 computers, plus spare medical equipment that can be used in hospitals in Romania.

People who would like to help can contact Kirsty on 07880 538567.