CHENNAI: A pleasant evening welcomed the guests to The Cherian Foundation’s 10th-anniversary celebration of their campaign ‘Gift Hair Gift Confidence’ at The Raintree, Anna Salai, on Saturday, World Cancer Day. Joining them in their celebration was award-winning director Vetrimaaran.
The ‘Gift Hair Gift Confidence’ is a signature campaign started as a tribute to the grandmother of Sara Benjamin Cherian, trustee of The Cherian Foundation. Sara’s grandmother also suffered from cancer. The Cherian Foundation has tied up with Raj Hair Internationals and B&H exports, to make and gift wigs to cancer patients from the lower-economic strata to give them confidence when they undergo chemotherapy. “Our dream is to enable every man, woman and child to overcome the stigma of chemotherapy-related hair loss and receive treatment for cancer with dignity,” said Sara.
At the event, the Adyar Cancer Institute presented the results of a clinical stud that concluded — Women wearing wigs responded far better to treatment as opposed to women not wearing wigs. This study further strengthened The Cherian Foundation to take up this campaign to reach out to as many cancer patients in 2018, added Sara. The campaign has received countless responses over the years and many people and institutions contributed immensely to this cause.
The first wig donation was conducted in collaboration with the Women’s Christian College in 2014 where 24 wigs were donated. In the following years, they received hair donations from over 50 institutions. Explaining the process behind making a wig, Sara said, “The selected hair is sent to the B&H exports to be sorted, washed, dried and tied into individual bundles. The hair bundles are separated based on colour, texture and size.
Hair that is dyed, treated and styled exclusively is filtered out. The hair is then made into a wig through wefting where the bundles are sent into a machine and are made into ponytails, sewn onto the wig base, and are hand-knotted. Hand-knotting is a important process as this makes the wig look as natural as possible.”
A documentary about two women who faced cancer while experiencing the turmoil to find confidence and be accepted in society was screened during the event. These women found their hope on the horizon when the Gift Hair Gift Confidence campaign team offered them wigs that looked natural, enabling them to step out into the world. “Nalla irukku…ennoda mudi maadri irukku (It is nice, just like my hair),” said one of the survivors.
Director Vetrimaaran acknowledged that he is in the presence of humble hearts whose motive is to serve cancer patients and he encouraged this initiation to grow enormously in the future. The journey of this campaign was an eye opener for a few audience members, who said, “ We usually hear of cancer as a common disease but we have not seen the downside of it up close. Seeing the impact of what wigs can do on cancer patients and how this campaign has contributed so much, keeps us inspired and supportive.”
Taking it forward
To mark the beginning of the 20th anniversary of The Cherian Foundation, and the 10th anniversary of Gift Hair Gift Confidence, the foundation will be giving 250 wigs to four hospitals — Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, Arignar Anna Hospital in Kancheepuram, CNCI in Kolkata, and Gujarat Cancer Institute.