Back from a week of Introspection and Discussion

My short hair and I are returning from Indralaya on Orcas Island, where I shared much about the head shaving with friends there. It was a great week, learning more about Therapeutic Touch, working with wonderful people in the kitchen and treating some of the most open and receptive people I will ever meet. I received encouragement for the projects, posiitvely AFRICA and also the new look!

I wonder how others are feeling. I have been out of touch for a week and managed to delete all my emails just before I left Victoria. I realize that I need to add a few pictures of others that were sent to me. Here is one of the United World College Students. a stranger to the people in Kenya who will benefit from the funds raised but a wonderful young man willing to share life with others he has not yet met. I wonder how his family and friends are reacting to his new look.

As people look at me I can see them wondering if I am a religious person, a woman suffering from the effects of chemo, or some eclectic older woman! I like the confusion that I cause!

Indralaya inspires me to change the way that I live my life. As I head home and back to the busy world of home I am going to try a few techniques for restricting my work time to a limited amount of the day. One idea I have is that I will leave the house out the front door and come in the back door as though heading to work. Then when I return I will do the reverse, thus allowing my home to remain both a home and an office.

More updates on the hair campaign very soon. love -peg

The during and after shots

Here are a few shots from the event. We are looking for someone to purchase the blond hair that was cut from Svea's beautiful head so please post any thoughts that you have about this. Thanks. everyone.
I suppose you are wondering if we made our target of $10,000. We are at $7,100 and cheques are still coming in. Please know that we are very grateful to those who were able to post a cheque to us for this cause. More about that in the next blogs.

One Sunny day

We had one sunny day in the past couple of weeks. That was the day we gathered at Fisherman's Wharf to cut our hair off. Here is a group shot before the shearing.
Everyone was very enthusiastic. Shafia styled many people's hair, including the young man in the photo. This creative fellow was given pledges to shave the hair off his legs - that is why he posed like this!
Along with the shearing Fisherman's Wharf became a venue for music and dance as performers from Moondance and the Esquimalt High Jazz Combo played to the people who gathered in the sunshine. We had donations from several people including VIDEA and Many Moons Alternatives Inc., and we were able to give away "wharf" prizes to three lucky winners. Saying thank you to those that helped make this a fun and exciting day seems not quite enough. It was certainly a team effort, and therefore fun for everyone.

Emotional Days

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These are really emotional times. Is it the thought of soon looking monk-like? Is it the understanding of what life would be like without health care? Is it the amount of little things that need to be set in place to make this happen? It seems someone only has to mention hair and I burst into tears.

I don't think I have shared what hair means to the three who initiated the hair campaign. There are now 16 of us shearing our heads and we come from all around the globe. But here are a few words from Svea, Cathy and myself about our hair. If stories about our lives are biographies, then stories about our hair are certainly -

Hairographies

Mine is long and thick and according to some observers, tending to grey. Thankfully, I still see the browns and reds in it, and my ‘friends’ call it salt and pepper.

When I was really sick, in the early 90’s, it fell out and became thin and pasted to my head. I felt terrible when I looked in mirror and saw what had happened to my hair. But now I am healthy and it is a bit wild and hard to predict - like me.

I will give my hair willingly on June 5^th. I imagine it comforting someone who lost theirs’ due to illness. It is the only part of me that I can give - without fear of passing along HIV. My hair will be given with love and hope that we all see healthier days.

By cutting my hair off to raise money for friends in Africa - boys, girls, men and women who can’t afford health care - I know my hair has good karma. Strangely beautiful to imagine my hair allowing people to attain their dream of good health. - peggy

My hair isn’t long by some standards, but those who know me well will vouch that it hasn’t often been longer than it is right now.

I was never one to use make-up or dress up, much less colour my hair. When I was in my thirties, and salt and pepper was out-competing blond, it took ten years to be convinced that highlights would be good for me. Now, in my 50s, I am hopeful that someone else out there can use more salt than pepper, with highlights!

My humour is inversely related to the length of my hair: the shorter it is, the better my mood. (Ask any of my good friends how grumpy I get when my hair gets in my eyes and is ‘oh, so heavy’ on my head.) I will give my hair as a symbol of the collective good humour and gratitude that African men, women and children have shown Peggy over the past decade, and a reminder for myself to appreciate how few tribulations I have had to face in my life.

My hair might be too short to make a wig, but I see it as a symbol of my deep wish to help give the gift of life and hope to someone who needs a lift.

I will give my hair to remind myself that I am lucky, and I CAN do something that will touch someone, somewhere in Africa, and help them be well enough to live out some of their dreams. – Cathy nee Pennachetti

It would not be exaggerating if I said I liked my hair. Every day I try and do something different with it. My favorite hair style is two braids wrapped around my head.

What is my hair like? Its long - long being that it reaches past my belly button and rests a few centimeters above my tailbone. Due to the fact that my hair is so long it tells a story of my life. The ends are by far lighter in color than the new shoots emerging from my head and resemble the blond hair that I see in picture taken when I was small. Somewhere in the middle is a large spot of bright blond, suntanned hair, the result of a year in Southern Spain.

Why am I cutting it off? Not only because, for me, it will be a practice of non attachment, but if I can, by cutting of my hair, help in any way to give more to those in need, I would cut of my hair time and time again. - Svea

People have asked a lot of questions.

Who is the money being raised for?

Funds go to two projects positively AFRICA/VIDEA currently works with in Narok, Kenya, the heart of Maasai-land:

• Osopet Community Support for HIV, and

• Nissi, orphanage and primary school.

Nissi volunteers support an orphanage for 55 children and a primary school for 100. The only stability in the childrens’ lives is their adult caregivers and each other. Death at Nissi is commonplace, with 25 children dying from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2008. Nissi children who are HIV+ and other vulnerable children and their care-givers need a comprehensive annual health program.

The numbers are similar for Osopet, with an average of 25 members dying each year, often from treatable illnesses like malaria, pneumonia, TB and AIDS-related infections. Those that die are children, farmers, volunteers, mothers, fathers, and grandparents.

What is the Program or Schedule for Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow, or Hair Cuts Help African HIV Kids, Saturday June 5^th, 2010 at Victoria's Fisherman's Wharf?

12:00 to 1:30 pm - Set up & hair cuts by donation.

1:00 to 1:30 pm - African drummers from "Moondance Dynamic Art School" - Lynn Weaver (Artistic Director)

1:30 to 1:45 pm - Peggy Frank talk about the project (to the media and crowds!)

1:45 to 2:15 pm - Balding activity and, possibly as "live auction"

2:00 to 3:00 pm - Esquimalt High Jazz Ensemble

2:45 - 3:00 pm - African Head Scarf Tying by Schola

3:00 - 4:00 pm Unstructured fun time, mingling & hair cuts by donation

Can you tell us more about positively AFRICA and VIDEA?

About positively AFRICA www.positivelyafrica.org

positively AFRICA is a small not-for-profit society based in Victoria with a mission to build partnerships that enable those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa to live with hope and dignity. Incorporated in 2006 with a small volunteer Board, they focus on providing hope and community assistance to HIV affected families through African community-based organizations. In Canada they play an important role in community education. positively AFRICA has grown into a strong and vibrant organization with over forty active volunteers and more than a thousand supporters.

About VIDEA www.videa.ca

Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA) has been involved in the promotion and delivery of global education in Victoria and the Southern Vancouver Island area since 1977. VIDEA has actively engaged teachers, students, youth and the general public in learning about and becoming involved in international issues, with a particular focus on the need for socially just and sustainable global development.

VIDEA is a non-profit organization guided by a Board of Directors, with the assistance of a dedicated core of staff and volunteers. They work with smaller groups with similar foci and provide learning opportunities through special events, seminars, workshops, tours and conferences, for schools and for the general public. They conduct research and publish quality learning resources that are used in Canada, the United States, and overseas.

Can we help if we miss the event?

Just think of us on Saturday. Spread goodwill around the globe, smile at someone, and come back to the blog to see the "after"shots. Your donations are always welcome, as these health care programs will need to be ongoing, for a while - until the organizations recover from three years of drought, and develop so that they have their own community backup resources. Remember to Make cheques out to VIDEA and send them to 2092 Byron Street, Victoria, BC. We still need a bit of help to make it to our $10,000 target. We have almost $6000 now!

I keep hoping for warmer weather as we approach the day of the shearing. For those following this blog and I am sorry that I have not put up posts for a week or so. I heard from our African partners and will share some of the input from them. I want to thank people who have taken out their cheque books and made donations. We are thrilled every time we open the mail and see that we are slowly climbing towards our goal.

Regarding health care, I know that there are plenty of things that need to be looked after in Victoria and Canada. That is why we are making arrangements to give our hair to wig-makers who support people who lose hair due to cancer or some other personal health problem. Can you just imagine how much comfort Svea's blond hair will give some child? I believe that along with our air will go some of our energy, and Svea is a kind and most thoughtful young woman.

Would you consider letting your friends and family know about the Hair Campaign? What will you tell them? Essentially, that many people Peggy met in Kenya, Africa, are trying to live lives just like ours. Peggy talked to children who want to go to school and learn about dinosaurs, the solar system and mathematics. She met adults that want to work their fields and get food in for their families. And like elsewhere in Africa she saw grandmothers looking after their orphaned grandchildren, and other care-givers looking after those orphans that have no one else. All of these people operate in communities where about 10 - 25% of the population gets so sick with treatable illnesses that they die. The change that $25 can make is remarkable; the change that $200 can make astounding; and the change that thousands will make is that the people in these communities will be able to continue to work on achieving their goals and setting new ones. Without health, there is no chance that they can develop programs that lead to a self-sufficient future. With a care program they will have the foundation that provided for the continuity that builds strong independent organizations. For those who are able to help, please explain that they can write a cheque to VIDEA. If you can encourage them to do that immediately, it seems I am not alone in forgetting to do things if I don't carry out the action when I think of it. Then at the bottom of the cheque, on the memo line, ask them to put 'Hair Campaign pA' or 'pA Hair'. The cheques should be placed in an envelop addressed to: positively AFRICA's office, 2092 Byron Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1L9.

The hair cutting event will take place at Fisherman's Wharf on June 5, 2010, from 12 noon to 4 pm. There will be more information and a few surprises down on the wharf. And if you need a trim - our hairdresser will take time do do cuts by donation.

Keep posted and I will try to keep posting. Blessings to you all -peg

Lesalon's Death - Our Fund will make a Difference

Life is full of beauty and the saddest of things - people that are inspiring and frustrations. Yesterday I learned two things. Lesalon - the man I treated with Therapeutic Touch earlier this year near his village home - Lesalon died and was buried May 1, 2010. And on the same day I received a heart-felt message from a friend imploring me to accept her offer of sponsorship to attend further Therapeutic Touch training.

The pictures are from the burial and below are some thoughts from Pastor Peter.

Myself I received Lesalon's death with deep sorry [sorrow] for I was trying my best to save his live and involving my friends like you, Emmanuel and all Osopet community. I feel that we have lost a bread winner for his family and that a big burden is laid on Osopet's shoulder to take care of this family. Rosemary is suffering from a severe skin disease and she need special medical attention before her situation become worse.

Her viral load is still low and she has (since 1 week) started taking the ARV'S which is a good thing, not like her husband who had a high viral when he was discovered positive 3 weeks ago.

If Osopet could have taken an action at the beginning, even before Peggy's visit and the resources were available we could have saved his live. All this thoughts and many come to my minds during his burial.

I will cradle the thought that IF we can establish health care funds, people will be able to get health care WHEN they need it. The children are living under Osopet's care. This much I know that donors can be proud of. So - we are proudly moving forward with our Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow Campaign. If you want to help the Hair Campaign - or want more information - please call me or check out positively AFRICA's website www.positivelyafrica.org.

Thank you Pastor Peter for keeping us informed even in your time of sorrow. By the way, the community and family need help with burial costs. Please let me know if you can help. My email address is peggy@positivelyafrica.org.

My heart aches that Health Care Tomorrow is too late for Lesalon - but we can do something that will help his family! -peg

May Day and the Campaign is 'officially' launched!

The BEFORE picture

Hi

We have started sending out the message that we going ahead with the Campaign. Cathy began the mail-out April 29th by contacting her family on the 25th anniversary of her father's death. It was a beautiful message with some of Cathy's good humour thrown in. I borrowed her line
" I’m writing with hat in hand (afterwards it will definitely be on my head!) asking if any of you are able to donate to the cause."

Today was the day I began sending 'Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow' information out to my family and friends. May Day, and we have about a month to raise $10,000 for health care for our partners in Kenya and we have a pretty good start with over $1300 already pledged.

I want to thank the friends who came forward with donations when I told them about the urgent need to cover medical costs for Lesalon, a member of the Osopet Community. He is still very ill and in the Hospital but his family and the community are very happy he is in care and not dying at home. He is a good example of the type of needs that the people in Maasailand have. He is HIV positive, has TB and malaria or meningitis. He needed health care long ago but could not afford it. When the situation was a crisis he was finally taken to hospital, but sending funds each time they are needed is a very expensive way to go. Banks here and in Kenya charge for every transaction, and we loose between $30 and $50 to these bank charges each time we transfer money. I am really looking forward to having Annual Comprehensive Health Care programs for Osopet and Nissi. At Nissi, it will be the orphans will be able to get treatment when they need it.

Today I heard from Pastor Peter (Osopet). He reported that he'd had an accident on the motorbike (while taking Lesalon's family to the Hospital) and needed to get health care himself. Thankfully, receiving Therapeutic Touch from Emmanuel has helped his superficial injuries to heal. As always, he did not ask for anything for himself. He just reported that the funds needed to to pay for Lesalon's health care arrived safely.
The sun is shining here in Victoria and we are enjoying a different day than was forecast. The rains have come in the night instead of spoiling people's weekends. Svea continues to study for exams and I am trying to catch up on correspondence from positively AFRICA Board and volunteers as well as our African partners. I spoke to Cathy and we are all getting excited about the project that we have embarked upon.

Today too Judy Jackson called, having just returned from a filming expedition and she is prepared to take some video footage the day of the shearing. "When is it?" - she asked. Early June is all I could say, but stay posted as we try to get approval for a very "COOL" venue. I know... - everything will be "COOL" once my hair is gone.

Finally, I have to ask - "Do you want to make a pledge?" If you have not received the information about how to do that in your inbox, please send me an email peggyfrank@positivelyafrica.org and I will send the details.

May today's breezes blow great things your way. -peg

Therapeutic Touch for the Maasai

Hi again

I was able to get the image of the Maasai man up on the site. As you can see the picture was taken when I was in the Narok area of Kenya with Pastor Peter - he's on the left. We are helping a man who is very ill by providing the one thing that we can easily provide as home-based care - Therapeutic Touch.

You can see the small Maasai home in the background, with a ladder up to the roof where some work is happening - or maybe not because the man in the family is ill.

Good news is that this man who had malaria, and got so sick he could no longer talk, is now in the Hospital under care. And the almost good news is that the Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow Campaign will greatly help Osopet, Nissi and KCYP get people to clinics and Hospitals before their situation is so dire.

Health Care means Life

Hi

We are having trouble getting images on to the blogspot, but otherwise things are moving ahead. Cathy has looked into what we need for wig making and it seems that we need bundles of tissue paper and a rose box. We also need to see about getting battery operated shearers. If anyone has a line on any of these - please let one of us know.

There is plenty of work to do to get ready for the event, including getting really clear information from Osopet, Nissi and KCYP about the potential impact of an emergency Health Care Fund. I know that donations made to health care, both while I was traveling in Kenya, and for the positive women in the KCYP Nutrition project, kept people alive. Sadly, the converse is also true. When health care needs arise and someone can't get to care, they have died. We have now lost three women in Kibera. Rose died at the end of March.

But on a brighter note - none of the positive children under the Osopet Pediatric Care Project have died. And those children are looking happy and brightly towards a future. More later. Love -peg

Another request

It's frustrating not to be able to send the funds needed to get people to care.

We had another request from our Kenyan friends at Osopet. They have, thanks to positively AFRICA donors, been able to pay the bills for one of the children that broke her arm, but now need help to cover the Hospital costs of a man I met about two months ago. He was not well then - I gave him a Therapeutic Touch treatment and he improved for a short time. Then he started getting weaker and weaker. Pastor Peter asked for help, but there is no program in place for adults and health care - that's why we are shaving our heads - to kick off this much needed program!
The man could not wait and Pastor Peter took him to the local Hospital. Turns out the man is HIV positive, so he will need a lot of care NOW - to get the opportunistic infections under control, and then build his strength enough to go back home. Home - where living conditions are not made for those of us who are not hearty. I'll try to find a picture of him - but for now here I am teaching some of the Maasai women involved in home-based care to do 'Capacitar' head holds.
These women are the most amazingly strong women I have ever met! They carry huge containers of water miles a day, they cook on open fires for large families, they look after animals, they build their homes, ... Most have shaved their heads because managing long hair is not easy, especially when water is scarce. I will be proud to hold my bald head like the Maasai women I met!

It's not about the hair

I woke this morning thinking about the idea of having no hair. It's a bit daunting, but I think it makes a lot of sense when you look at the cause and the effect. I need to start letting friends know that I am doing this and also get Svea and Cathy to comment on this blogspot. It's really not about the hair, but about the cause. We can't continue to sit back complacent about a world where people are dying because they can't afford to go to a doctor - and then they can't afford the simplest of medications once they are at the doctors.

Thanks for coming onto the blog and please make comments - if you feel inclined and certainly get in touch and make a pledge - if you feel compelled.

Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow

I'm really beginning to get excited and nervous about the Hair Today - Health Care Tomorrow event. I'm excited because I think we can reach our target of $10,000. We already have a generous pledge of $1000!

But what will I look like without hair? Hair has always been important to me and now I have a really good reason to say goodbye to all my hair. If we can raise awareness about the plight of many people in Kenya, and all of Africa and most of the world for that matter. It just doesn't make sense that people die because they can't afford to go to a clinic, get medicine and get care!

We hope to raise enough to help three of positively AFRICA/VIDEA's projects reach out with a health care fund. Food and water are not enough - people need health care when they are sick.


(The picture is from my last hair trim. I made brushes using my hair. To purchase one of these unique paint brushes, email me at peggy@positivelyafrica.org.)