When one has to suffer through the trauma of having cancer, recovery is made that much more difficult when your self-confidence is at an all-time low. Realizing the same, Hair for Hope was launched by Dubai-based Premi Mathew to inspire people to donate hair to create wigs for cancer patients.
Mathew’s own experience with cancer prompted her to start a Facebook page on breast cancer called ‘Protect Your Mom’ to urge mothers everywhere to conduct self-examination exams and take regular mammogram tests. “Women are usually too busy to worry about their health” she points out. “But if their children pester them, they are likely to do it. Kids thus grow up to be more informed adults and might reach their moms more effectively than doctors and commercial sources at zero cost saving thousands of lives.”
The seed for ‘Hair for Hope’ was planted when Mathew met her cousin’s son, Dylan who was growing his hair out. The reason left her stunned – Dylan was planning to cut and donate it to a society that made wigs for cancer patients who could not afford them. Inspired by him, she decided to leverage her MBA in marketing and launch a similar campaign. And so, Hair for Hope was born.
“People who are unaffected by cancer often do not realize how much a wig means to a chemo patient. It gives them dignity at a time when their own reflection in the mirror is their worst enemy. It gives them hope and the will to fight and live on” she states.
So far, the initiative has seen more than 4,000 free donations to more than 400 chemotherapy patients in India, and the campaign which started in Dubai has gained popularity in Middle East and India.
While it generally does require quite a bit of hair to make a wig, every donation counts, every hair cut inspires another and every wig contributes to well being.
If you would like to donate hair or learn more about how you can help the initiative, please check the Protect Your Mom website or the Hair for Hope Facebook page.
Written by Pavi Sagar
Featured image source: Hair for Hope
