Archive - Thursday, 4 October 2001


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Lisa highlights the plight of the tiny

A PENARTH woman is vowing to increase awareness of restricted growth in an effort to stop prejudice.

Lisa Osmond, 41, of High Street, is 4ft 4ins and says everyday acts most people take for granted such as buying clothes are often difficult for "little people".

Additionally, Lisa, whose children Joanne, 14, and Edward, 9 , also have restricted growth, says media portrayal is a problem.

Lisa, an extra playing the "typical" part of a goblin in the upcoming Harry Potter film, said: "How often do you see little people on soaps like Coronation Street?"

Lisa runs four websites helping others like her. One concerns diet and fitness (www. groups.yahoo.com/group/leesaosmond) which she started after attending Slimming World.

She said: "Being short you wouldn't think weight would be a problem, but it is. However, last year I lost a stone with the All Saints class. I did a sponsored slim and raised £110 and a sponsored cycle raising £100, all for the Restricted Growth Association (RGA), a brilliant group I discovered nine years ago."

But she added: "There was no-one there I could relate to so I started my own diet and fitness website for little people last April. There are 50 members."

Lisa's other websites are for short actors and actresses (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/fiercepinkflame), another health site (www.maxpages.com/lpshealth), and her resume (www. geocities.com/leesaosmond/willow.html).

She is hoping to attend an RGA convention in Nottingham, running a Healthy Living workshop.

Lisa said: "We'd find the convention very helpful as other workshops are being held, such as car driving, with which I have a problem."

Now she is appealing to Penarth people to help her expenses there.

Slimming World has given her £100, while Penarth Rotary Club has promised £100 to be given when she can say she has almost enough money.

Anyone who can help can help email Lisa at leesaosmond@yahoo.co.uk People can also visit the RGA's website at www.rgaonline.org.uk