Wigs for a smile

Thank you for taking the time to read our quarterly report. Since February 2019 we've been very active, both promoting this great cause and making wigs for children throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina who've suffered temporary or permanent hair loss. In this period we've provided 6 new wigs, 4 for pediatric cancer patients in Sarajevo, Foca and Banja Luka, and 2 for alopecia sufferers in Tuzla and Bihac (a 12-year old migrant girl from Afghanistan).

Our wigmaker and cancer survivor, Fuad Halilovic, was invited by the Vocational Beauty and Hairdressing School in Sarajevo to take part in the 2^nd year hairdressing curriculum as a Teaching Assistant for practical wig making. 25 students and 3 teachers participated in this exercise.

We would like to thank all our donors for their valuable donations and kind words of support. In the second part of 2019, our focus will be on designing and making children’s wigs. At the end of 2019, we are planning to hold another public hair donation campaign in Sarajevo and we hope that this event will become a tradition and a hallmark of our project.

Please consider telling your friends and family about our project and sharing it locally or globally, via social networks. Every penny, euro cent or pfennig counts. Since hair loss is a very painful and traumatizing experience, for both children and their parents, and the availability of natural-looking, human hair wigs will greatly help cushion the impact of such trauma.

Links:

• Al Jazeera Balkans documentary "Wigs for a smile"

WIGS FOR A SMILE

February 2019

Hair loss, which is predominantly associated with balding middle aged men and terminally ill older women, has long been a cultural taboo in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. The impact of hair loss on children undergoing treatment, either for cancer or some autoimmune disorder, and their parents and close relatives has primarily been explored by health professionals focusing on medical effects of hair loss. Our organization explored the issue from a psychological point of view and offered solution for hair loss management and healing from within by launching a socially-engaging project My hair, your hair (Wigs for a smile) and, consequently, setting up a wig-making workshop. Without relying on the government healthcare system, which does not provide children with medical hair prostheses, children with permanent or temporary hair loss in Bosnia and Herzegovina receive, free of charge, natural-looking human hair wigs through our organization.

Wigs are made in our wig-making workshop by a childhood cancer survivor and Association member, Fuad Halilovic. This young man was offered an opportunity to learn the wig-making craftsmanship in 2018, and since the Global Giving campaign started in October 2018, Fuad has attended an advanced wig-making training in Belgrade, Serbia at the Wig Hair Master Academy. He is now fully prepared to independently design and create wigs for our little, brave hearts. Also, in this period, our wig-making workshop has produced and delivered 4 new wigs, two for pediatric cancer patients in Sarajevo and Banja Luka and two for alopecia sufferers, in Sarajevo and Tuzla respectively.

Our next steps include stocking up on wig making material (Spring 2019) and keeping up the wig-making workshop fully operational since new wig requests are coming regularly.

We would like to thank all our donors for their valuable donations and kind words of support. In 2019 we will strive to be better and bolder in designing and making children’s wigs. Since hair loss is very painful and traumatizing experience, for both children and their parents, and the availability of natural-looking, human hair wigs will greaty help cushion the impact of such trauma.

Srce Team

Links:

• Udruzenje Srce za djecu