This essay was co-authored by Ayushi Jain & Ayushi Goel.

Cancer has always been a taboo subject in India, but with the right awareness, lives can be saved and hope can be awakened. With the same belief, a cancer survivor, founder of Protect Your Mom, and HairForHope Campaign, a beautiful soul with the desire to change the world, one person at a time, Ms Premi Mathew, is on her journey to raise awareness about breast cancer and provide comfort to those diagnosed with the deadly disease. 

Beginning of HairForHope

I started this campaign in 2013 after I met Dylan, a 10-year-old boy who grew his hair for 4 years so that he could donate it to cancer patients. He was ostracized by his peers and the society but he had the will to donate. 

HairforHope India is just me and a lot of volunteers and that is it, no paid employees and no money. The first student to host an event in India was just ten years old. When people cut their hair in front of others it creates a positive outcome.   

Why is hair donation important

Though the hair loss is painless and usually temporary, it is one of the most distressing side effects of chemotherapy and lowers the self-esteem of sufferers, making them withdraw into a shell. It is tough for many women to even deal with their own reflection without hair, eyelashes and eyebrows.

A wig composed of natural hair is very expensive and many cannot afford it especially after paying the huge expenses of the treatment. It causes me immense pain seeing people when I see precious hair going to waste when I know that this hair can be of huge joy to a suffering patient.

I remember one survivor, under the HairForHope campaign who rang me up to say, “Madam, I went for a wedding after 15 years and took a photo standing in the front row!”

Wigs give women the confidence to face society. Some look beautiful even when they are but, majority fear social criticism and end up confined at home and can even lose their will to fight the disease.

Awareness amongst Indians

I made sure to give every hair cut a lot of media coverage so that others could understand how it works and remove the taboo around hair donation. I chose students with strong leadership skills in various parts of India and together we held a campaign in various schools and colleges. 

Organisations like NSS, Rotaract Clubs and Ladies circle India helped them organise events. 

I also tied up with Pinkathon where Mr Milind Soman, the Pinkathon ambassador took the initiative of cutting his hair in front of thousands which created massive awareness amongst the masses. 

I have boys growing their hair against all taboos just to donate for HairforHope India. This gives people the courage to cut their hair as well.

Initial impediments faced

When this campaign was launched in India, the awareness of the fact that even hair could be donated and it wasn’t just a symbol of fashion, was nil. Initially, we broadcasted our messages through Facebook and held live donations through major TV channels like Zee News. Whenever a person made up his/her mind to donate hair, we strived to create events where just a single person’s act of courage in picking up a pair of scissors could reach the hundreds around. Though it wasn’t always possible to do so without any funds, we persevered to our best to make it happen. The tradition of “The right hand must not know what the left-hand does” in India also proved to be a challenge. Ladies who had done the kind act of donating were not willing to publish pictures which were really essential to create awareness. It was a difficult task to personally convince them that it was imperative for the project. 

Vision for the future

Our organization strives to set up a wig bank in every cancer hospital where people can possibly donate, reuse or get wigs for immediate use. Banks and colleges could have a counter for collection, thereby cutting down courier costs. We are also working towards establishing a network of wig makers around the country so that can make it as cost price as CSR. 

Impact of the pandemic on the campaign

Lockdowns do affect our partners and it is a struggle to fund wig makers as migrant labourers have left for their home-towns. Volunteers are also not willing to work during these unprecedented times. Sterilization and distribution of wigs can also pose to be a challenge. 

How Amitians can contribute

I am always on the lookout for young volunteers. You can do your part by creating awareness by sharing our stories on your social media. Further, you can educate salons such that minimum hair ends up in the bin and is put to noble use as wigs. You can even organize contests such as poster making. Children are also encouraged to pester their moms to check for early signs of breast cancer because early detection saves lives. It is a pity to see the lack of awareness about self-examination of cancer at home amongst people. 

How to become a successful entrepreneur

I believe the single-most-important skill for becoming a successful entrepreneur is determination. Students can hone their leadership skills by organizing events. We have even launched another campaign, ‘Adopt a chemo-patient’ in which school children can directly pay the bills of chemo patients by collecting Rs 100 from each student. This also increases the understanding of the value of money and life and the joy that the tears of happiness of the patients provide.