Dubai: Scores of women have turned out to have their tresses chopped to help cancer patients in the UAE.
For the second year in a row, women in Dubai have heeded the call to help in their own way, by donating their locks to make wigs.
But this time, their hair will crown cancer patients right here in the UAE.
Over 41 women, mostly children and teenagers, had their hair cut and bagged at NStyle Nail Lounge on Saturday for the event, Hair for Hope.
The locks collected will be used to help financially vulnerable female cancer patients who have lost their hair due to the effects of chemotherapy.
“Last year we sent it [collected hair] to Beautiful Lengths in America, the concept of which I don’t object to. But there are women suffering the effects of chemotherapy in this country. So we also need to support our women,” Lola Lopez, founder of Volunteer in UAE, told Gulf News.
Lopez said she was surprised to see the turnout this year, as compared to when it was launched last year.
“This year we had to almost double the hours of the event to be able to accommodate the women who wanted to donate their hair. So I am very pleasantly surprised,” Lopez said.
As much as 327 inches of hair — or over 27 feet — had been collected by 4pm on Saturday. The youngest donor was four-year-old Julia who gave away 10 inches of her hair.
Among those who had their hair cut for charity was Tahira Muzaffar Ali, 13, who intentionally did not have a haircut for a year in preparation.
The Indian expatriate’s hair donation was the longest so far in the group at 23 inches.
“Last year I heard a boy was growing his hair to donate to cancer patients. If boys can do it, we girls can too,” Ali said.
For nine-year-old Israa Rehan, who said that her hair is very precious to her, donating 16 inches of it to make others happy is more important.
“I feel very sad for the people who don’t have hair, that’s why I was very happy to give my hair to them. My hair is like gold for me but it will go to people who don’t have hair because of cancer,” Rehan said.
Because she didn’t have the chance to go last year, Leanne D’Abreo, 15, made it a point to donate her hair this time.
“I read that wigs made out of real hair are very expensive. So I think it’s a privilege for me to help cancer patients. It can make them feel more confident about themselves,” D’Abreo, 15, who donated 10 inches of her hair, said.
Lopez said for Volunteer in UAE the next step is to find a partner salon in the UAE that can transform these beautiful locks into wigs for free in order to benefit UAE society directly.
