A Co Derry woman has said she is "overwhelmed" by the response to an appeal for dancing shoes for orphaned and impoverished children in Bangkok.
Caoimhe Deeney, 30, teaches deprived girls Irish dancing as part of her volunteering work at the Good Shepherd Sisters' residential home.
The home, which is run by an Irish nun, creates a homely environment and educates the girls so they can pursue their own careers in the future.
And as part of the widely celebrated Emerald Ball, which is celebrated as part of the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Thailand, the girls practice and perform a reel in front of world diplomats at the event.
The appeal sparked a viral response last week when the Derry teacher put a message on Facebook asking for 14 pairs of Irish dancing pumps for this years performance.
Speaking from Bangkok, Coaimhe told Belfast Live that she was 'delighted' with the response to the post on social media.
She said: "The girls have been practicing really hard and I thought I would give it a shot by putting a post online to appeal for the shoes.
"Then two women reached out to me and it went from there really.
"A woman called Mairead McChrystal Ferguson got in contact with me and when I explained to her the full story of the girls and the planned performance, she offered to buy all 14 pairs of shoes.
"Irish dancing wouldn't be that common out here so you wouldn't be able to get the shoes.
"I was delighted that so many people wanted to help and pointed me in the right direction, it was overwhleming."
The Derry girl, who has been volunteering for the last 18 months, explained how she began volunteering with the girls after she joined the committee of the St Patrick's Irish Society.
"It all came about when I went to an opening of an Irish bar in Bangkok and meet so many Irish people there, including a few from Derry.
"They asked me to get involved and that's when I met Sister Louise, who has been there for the last 40 years.
"She asked me to volunteer and help get the girls ready for the big performance."
Despite only briefly learning how to Irish dance as a child, it wasn't long before Coaimhe had the girls, who come from Thailand, Cambodia and Burma, in the swing of things.
"The girls love learning how to dance, it one of their favourites times of the week.
"I was able to show them how stand and point their toe an do the jumps correctly.
"They even makes their own dresses and got to perform at the local Irish Embassy recently. It was heartwarming.
"When the girls see the gifts that are being sent to the home, they will be over the moon."
