By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – When a Pakistani plane crashed, killing all 48 passengers last week, the shock pushed Nida Hassan Fancy to take a step she had been hesitant about – shaving her head and donating the hair to a charity that helps cancer patients.
Fancy's act, posted on social media, drew attention to Hair to Help, a charity that since 2012 has donated more than 500 wigs to cancer patients who had lost their hair during chemotherapy.
“I had long been wanting to donate my hair since I met a young girl who underwent chemo but I could not translate my plan into action as I was jittery about the reaction not only from the general public but also from family and friends,” Fancy, 33, told Anadolu Agency.
“That plane crash just made my heart bleed. I decided then and there to do this,” said Fancy, who works as an art director with a local film company.
“I did not tell anyone except my husband, who was standing next to me when I was getting my head shaved. He fully supported me because I did it for a cause instead of for popularity or fashion,” she said.
According to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), there are over 1.5 million cancer patients in Pakistan and their numbers are increasing by 8 to 10 percent per year. More than 80,000 die each year because of the disease, half of them from breast cancer.
When Syed Fahad Hussein, 29, launched the Hair to Help project it was not without challenges, with some accusing him of collecting hair for black magic and others saying it was forbidden by religion.
"The initial days were very tough to make people understand. People started targeting me with multiple allegations as soon as I floated this idea on Facebook. Their comments were discouraging, but I did not lose hope," Hussein, a web designer, told Anadolu Agency. "It was my dream since my school days to do something for cancer survivors after one of my classmates underwent chemotherapy."
He said he was inspired by organizations in Europe and America but could not find anyone doing the same in Pakistan. He reduced the opposition to the idea by finding religious scholars who supported it.
Twice a year they hold hair donation drives in Karachi and Lahore, two of the country's largest cities, to make the wigs that could otherwise cost up to 25,000 Pakistani rupees ($250).
"We provide wigs to deserving survivors who are treated at government-run or charity hospitals and cannot afford to buy wigs. They simply have to fill a form and get the wig," he said.