CHARITIES helping victims of female genital mutilation are to benefit from a new shop that has opened in Old Town.

Daisy and Daisy is a dream come true for friends Ursula Wick and Eva Mwawuganga.

Eva, who came to the UK to join her husband who works in the NHS, started selling clothes at the market in Royal Wootton Bassett.

She said: “I have a passion for supporting those suffering in Kenya and I couldn’t stand being out in the cold at the market because I’m from Africa, so I knew I wanted to work in a shop.”

It was there that she met Ursula who was selling her home-made candles. She had taught herself the skill as a way of relaxation from coping with her 11-year-old son Aaron's autism.

“It has been a really horrific time for Aaron. His school at the time didn’t want to recognise his disability. He spent more time off school than he did attending. He almost missed a whole year of education which is a shame.

“It can all be very challenging and tiring, just going into town we can get a lot of looks and judgements because his behaviour can switch and he doesn’t deal well with social situations.

“I was looking for something to help me relax in the evenings, I started playing around with waxes and I found it very therapeutic. I started making them for friends and family to see what they thought and they told me they really liked it.

“From that I just thought I would start selling them to see how it went. Then I met Eva and we came up with the idea of the shop and that’s kind of how it was born.”

The pair have decided to put 60 per cent of their profits to towards charities like the Undugu Kenya Society in Eva's home country, Kenya, to help single mums, children and victims of female genital mutilation.

They found the shop in Victoria Road after a friend told them it was coming up for sale. "We decided to take it and we used the time in lockdown to make it our own," said Ursula.

And they chose Daisy and Daisy when they discovered they shared the same middle name.

The store, which opened its doors for the first time last week, stocks crystals, candles, clothes and jewellery.