A little girl who had a life-saving operation thanks to generous Oxfordshire folk, is now leading a happy life with her family on the other side of the world.

Samjhana Timilsina, known as “Little Sam”, came to the Witney area with her father when she was four.

She was born with a disfigured jaw, which needed specialist surgery to enable her to eat properly.

After an appeal, readers of the Oxford Mail and our sister paper, the Witney Gazette, helped raise £15,000 to pay for the operation.

As well as being able to eat properly, the surgery, carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, has also removed any disfigurement of her face and she now enjoys life like any other 12-year-old.

Samjhana’s father Mukti came with her to Witney in 1999.

He is a tour guide who has since founded a trekking business in the Himalayas.

This week he sent a message by email from near the Mount Everest base camp.

He said: “I am proud of my little daughter, who is nearly 13 and growing into a determined teenager. She is doing very well with her studies.

“We still talk about our time in the UK and the people we met. She still has a lot of friends who stay in touch over time.

“Her health is excellent, except at times she suffers from ear infections which cause hearing loss on the side of her jaw operation.”

Mukti added: “On behalf of my daughter and I, we would like to send thanks to you and all the people who supported us during our difficult time. We are hoping that some time in the future we may come to visit all our friends in the UK again.”

The man who brought Sam to England in 1999, John Fox, now lives in Australia but was back in Witney last week to visit relatives.

He said: “I was over the moon when I saw recent photos of Sam. She’s now a beautiful, gorgeous-looking girl and I’m glad all those people in the Witney area who helped can now see her as well.”

Mr Fox used to practise at an alternative therapy centre in Corn Street. He last saw Samjhana’s family in 2003 when he visited Nepal.

He added: “I’ve spoken to Mukti on the phone recently. Sam is going to school in her home town of Pokhara. She talks perfect English, has a normal kind of life and is full of confidence.

“I think it’s fantastic what readers gave for Little Sam. She wouldn’t be having the life she has now without their help. They deserve a big thank you.”

  • Samjhana Timilsina was born with a deformed jaw which made it impossible for her to eat anything except pulped food fed through locked teeth, a rare condition known as temporo mandibular ankylosis.

John Fox met her family when trekking in the Himalayas and on his return to England he came into the Witney Gazette office to tell her story, explaining that the little girl needed an operation.

It could be done in England but not Nepal, and Sam’s family did not have the money to pay for surgery over here. The Little Sam appeal was launched.

Despite the fact that the four-year-old lived on the other side of the world, readers generously warmed to the little girl’s plight and donated thousands of pounds. The organisers of the Miss World competition gave £5,000 to bring the total to £15,000.

Samjhana and her father came to stay at Mr Fox’s home in Minster Lovell. The operation in August 2000 involved the removal of one of her ribs from which a hinge was created to insert into her jaw.

Eventually, she flew home in the October. Mr Timilsina’s parting words were: “I would like to thank the paper for making our dreams come true.”

Samjhana’s Nepalese name translates as “Remember” and she and her family still remember the life-transforming generosity of the people of west Oxfordshire.