START
00:02 MONICA: My passion is to make people feel
beautiful.
Princesses.
00:17 COMM: In 2005 Monica Singh was top of her
class in fashion college at New Delhi, India.
And dreaming of a career in New York.
But then her life was suddenly torn apart.
One fateful day she stepped into her car, and a group of attackers threw an entire bucket
of acid over her.
00:37 MONICA: When acid got thrown on my face thought
like somebody just had a prank and thrown a coffee or a cold drink sort of thing on
me and because I started screaming to everyone "help me, help me" because the burning was
undescribable.
I could never imagine that a person could do this to anyone.
01:00 COMM: The corrosive liquid had burned through
all seven layers of Monica's skin, and doctors didn't know if she would survive.
01:07 MONICA: Being a burn patient, I was sleeping
in cage y'know, I used to feel like I'm already in a coffin.
There was a time when my entire body was completely skinless.
It was very painful, I used to scream - the screams used to come from my soul.
You know like I was screaming like y'know just kill me now, I can't bear this anymore.
01:33 COMM: Over the next ten years Monica underwent
forty six surgeries to repair her face and body.
Her father, Mahendra, used his entire his entire life savings to fund the operations.
But he also gave her something money couldn't buy.
Hope for her future.
01:49 MONICA: My dad asked me "what do you want
to do now?"
I just said "I want to have a degree in my hand."
And my dad said "That's what I wanted to hear from you, and I'm going to make sure that
you continue your study and get yourself a degree."
02:03 COMM: After a long battle to recovery and
despite her horrendous injuries, Monica finally earned her fashion degree in India.
And in September 2014 she achieved her ultimate dream when she began studying at Parsons in
New York.
Where alumni include fashion icons like Tom Ford and Anna Sui.
02:23 MONICA: The first thing I saw out of the windows
was like Times Square's lights and the banners and everything.
I was jumping and I was like "I'm finally here".
02:32 MONICA: New York is somewhere where I would
say that I established Monica Singh and I want to create a Monica Singh who can do what
she wanted to do and do everything by herself.
02:48 COMM: And she dreams of one day following
in the footsteps of world renowned designers.
02:53 MONICA: Fashion is like an energy booster
for me, fashion always keeps me happy.
Keeps me motivated.
02:59 COMM: Monica's determination has inspired
the new friends she's made in The Big Apple.
03:04 KATHRYN: When she first told me her story
I was very shocked and had no idea that's what had happened, and we actually both started
crying and it was very emotional but we had immediately made a connection.
03::17 LAUREN: In the future I believe that she really
can do whatever she would like to accomplish and I can't imagine going through what she's
been through.
I think she's a very remarkable individual and she's very courageous.
03:29 COMM: Shockingly Monica's attackers have never
been brought to justice.
But she's found the strength to remain positive.
03:37 MONICA: For me the make up is really important.
I can have the make up to help me hide my scars and so it's always kind of necessary.
03:46 MONICA: I cannot forgive that person for sure.
I forgot the negative part of my life, I started focusing who I am and what I wanna be.
So I'm focusing on that, I don't wanna think about that person at all.
03:59 COMM: Sadly Monica's father died in 2013,
and was unable to see his daughter's ambitions realised.
But she remains determined to develop her career, and help other victims of acid attacks
by setting up a global foundation in his memory.
04:15 MONICA: He was a source of my strength.
He was the biggest reason that I'm here talking right now.