OVER the years, Lorelei Leaver (pictured) has had to reinvent herself as her life has taken some unexpected twists and turns.

The bubbly 47-year-old with an infectious laugh now works as a customer service administrator for Chas A Blatchford and Sons Ltd - one of the world's leading lower limb manufacturers.

Having grown up in Manila in the Philippines, the daughter of a brigadier general graduated from university with a BSc in food nutrition.

One of her first jobs was to work for the interdenomin-ational Christian group, World Vision, island hopping and teaching nutrition to indigenous people in Cebu.

She says: "I was thrown in at the deep end as I didn't know how to speak their dialect."

But three years of travelling through shark-infested stormy waters were enough for Lorelei, so her next step was to set up a school for international students, which led to some unexpected ramifications.

Her students were concerned that she wasn't married and, unbeknown to her, they sent Lorelei's photo to an international marriage magazine.

"One day I returned home to my boarding house and my landlady was tearing her hair out because of the numerous letters I was getting from all over the world," she says.

Encouraged to respond to some of the letters, Lorelei eventually married a Briton and found herself living in the UK.

Tragically, he died several years ago of cancer.

Lorelei now lives in Silchester with her second husband.

Her day starts at 8.30am at the company's Wella Road offices.

She liaises with customers across the UK and overseas sorting out customer enquiries, making sure equipment meets expectations and checking deliveries.

She says: "It is an ongoing process where I can say one day is very different from the next. We cannot predict the load of work and what sort of day we are going to have."

Teamwork and good communication within the company is very important for Lorelei and she sees the smooth running of her department as an integral part of the company.

"We are in an industry where it is vital to get things right first time, otherwise we have patients who will be out on a limb - literally.

"It is very necessary that the patient is fitted with the right equipment and the right limbs.

"We need the support of everybody from top management down to the people on the shop floor."

The impact of the company's products on the lives of customers is not lost on Lorelei.

"If you are an amputee, the temptation to feel sorry for your loss dawns on you.

"The ability to have an artificial leg can help tremendously in boosting self-esteem and enhancing one's dignity.

"A good analogy is like someone with no front teeth - having dentures is a godsend to restoring self-confidence."

While at the company, Lorelei has continued with her studies, recently completing an export post graduate course. She is hoping to finish her current course in marketing by the end of the year.

She says: "Blatchford's offers equal opportunities to employees. They gave me the opportunity to better myself and expand my horizons and that is something I will always be grateful for."

But this has not always been Lorelei's experience. She thinks sometimes people misunderstand Filipinos and can forget the contribution they make to society in Basingstoke.

"When I came here in 1984, the Filipino community was not exposed to the media because there were only about 30 families here then.

"Because of this there was a lack of knowledge regarding the Philippines as very few people knew about the country.

"The media was not much help because they labelled us as people of ill-repute or domestics.

"I cannot blame them for not knowing much about my country - I feel that my country doesn't do enough to promote itself abroad."

The Filipinos have had their fair share of suffering in terms of poverty, lack of opportunities and political unrest but, through it all, they manage to make the most out of a bad situation.

But Lorelei thinks people's perceptions of her fellow Filipinos have been further enhanced by the recent increase of nurses from the Philippines who are working at Basingstoke hospital.

She says: "Streams of praise have been attributed to their patience, tenacity, good humour and willingness to learn.

"The UK has been good to us and we sincerely feel that we owe something to our adopted country.

"The only way we can show appreciation is to give the best of our abilities whenever possible."