Bald for a Cause – UWC in Mostar

We are the students of United World College in Mostar. Our main aim is to donate to and support the missions of the following organizations:

Srce za djecu-An organization based in Sarajevo we will be donating our hair too!:

"Over the time and years behind us circumstances have changed, but we have remained true to our number-one priority as defined at the very start of our activities, namely the wellbeing of our beneficiaries – children with cancer and their loved ones.

OUR MISSION is to provide active, continued, and comprehensive support to children with cancer and their loved ones.

OUR VISION is for every child in Bosnia and Herzegovina to have equal opportunities in life.

MY HAIR, YOUR HAIR

Centimetres of hair for kilometres of safe steps

As an organisation working with children and youth suffering from cancer since 2003, we have experienced various problems and challenges regarding the loss of hair and procurement of medical wigs for our little patients.

The Health Insurance Institute of the Federation of BiH does not cover the costs of this type of medical aid regardless of one’s age, gender or medical diagnosis, while the local and international insurers treat such aids differently, depending on the case.

Another challenge we have faced is the general lack of wigmakers as wig making in Bosnia and Herzegovina is dying out since such practice and curriculum is thrown out of the secondary school training for hairdressers and young people are ignorant about this type of training or work.

The first segment of the project aims to improve emotional and physical health of haematology-oncology patients and a reintegration of vulnerable groups into the family, school or broader community with the provision of medical wigs. Wigs from the Association’s workshop are available free of charge to every child with temporary or permanent hair loss so they can restore their self-esteem and successfully integrate in their community.

The goal of the second segment of the project is to establish a wig making workshop and training for certified wig makers to educate the next generation of wig makers and revive wig making in Bosnia and Herzegovina which is dying out. The wig making workshop was opened on 30 November 2017 and a ten-month training for wig makers began on 1 December 2017. The training is conducted by Jasmina Hadžić Ajanović, the chief wig maker of the Chamber Theatre 55. A total of 12 candidates were selected to learn wig making skills during the ten-month training and acquire the title of a certified wig maker in the final assignment. The space and the specialised equipment in the workshop are adjusted for the preparation and making of wigs from natural, human hair.

The goal of the third segment of the project is self-sustainability of the wig making workshop and expansion of services to all persons who have suffered or are suffering hair loss, and the wider public in BiH, the region and within our umbrella organisation Childhood Cancer International at the level of the European Union.

So far, we have made and delivered 38 wigs. The youngest beneficiary is 3 years old and the eldest is 18.

The first public campaign of donating hair for children’s wigs took place at the Sarajevo City Centre on 15 February 2017 on the International Childhood Cancer Day. During 2018, campaigns were held in Tuzla, Bihać, Vitez, Tešanj, Zenica, Banja Luka, Mostar and Sarajevo.

We are using this opportunity to thank everyone, adults and children, from all areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the world for donating their hair.

Novi Pogled-An organization led by woman cancer survivors based in Mostar we will be donating the funds too!:

"Novi Pogled is an association active in the Herzegovina region since 2003, with the head office in Mostar. The mission of the Association is psychological help and support to women with breast cancer and their families, during and after the treatment, as well as raise awareness in the general public on the importance of health care.

Through education on health and various ways of support to women with breast cancer and their families, we succeeded to become an important factor in the protection of the physical and mental health of women.

Our work is realised in open groups whose main tasks are:

• To educate women and their families about the illness, process of treatment, prognoses, and importance of psychological support for all people in system;
• To share the experiences with the accent on emotions provoked with the new situation - at women and at their family members, with the goal of normalisation and easier acceptance of these emotions;
• To gain new skills of coping with stress, relaxation techniques and impulse control:
• To improve the quality of communication onside the families what will be a way to overcome the prejudices blockade in communication;
• To triage among the group members those who need individual psychological and/or psychiatric support."

How to donate:

When donating in the comments below, write the name of the student you will be donating to. We will provide a link to the google sheet where you will be able to see how much each student has raised.

Link to the sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xxZfmCuAT8...

ALL HAIR AND FUNDS WILL STRICTLY BE DONATED TO THESE ORGANISATIONS

On behalf of all students of UWC Mostar: Donate! Donate! Donate!