It takes 4 braids of 20 centimeters each to make one wig for a child.

Fact:  Each year, 8,400 children are diagnosed with cancer.

Fact: Each year, over 100,000 new cancer patients are diagnosed.

Fact: Synthetic hair wigs never look or feel as real as real hair, they never move as freely and cannot be styled the same way wigs made of real hair can.

At 18 I went to visit the National Cancer Institute. The visit is all blurry to me, it was more heartbreaking than I want to remember. But the memory of one little girl is as clear as today in my mind. I had long, flowing hair and was insensitive enough not to put it in a bun when I visited.

The little girl looked at me, reached out to my hair, stroked it and asked me “Will my hair ever grow back and be this pretty?”

I broke.

Now, 11 years later, I am contemplating a very short haircut and the memory of this little girl cannot escape my mind.

The first time I cut my hair very short I saw it falling on the ground and remembered her, I kept thinking, what’s garbage to me would have been a precious gift to her. But I never knew what to do about it;  always heard of Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients who lost their hair in chemotherapy, but never knew we had anything similar in Egypt.

Then I found a post on Facebook and it just made my day. CanSurvive (??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????????) actually receives donations to make wigs for children who lost their hair during chemotherapy. In December, when my hair is long enough to donate, I am definitely mailing it in, in the hope of putting a small smile on a beautiful little girl’s face.

It’s not just hair on her head, I am sure they look beautiful with or without the hair, but it’s a statement, a statement of solidarity, of love, a simple “I am here for you” from a total stranger.

So next time you get a haircut – and that’s all the more motivation for you to go trendy this summer – think of how those locks your hairdresser will simply throw away in a bin can make someone very happy.

If you want to donate, here are the simple guidelines.

– Make sure you wash your hair before cutting it

– Put your hair in a ponytail or a braid and secure both ends

– Your braid or ponytail has to be at least 20 centimeters long from beginning to end

– Send it or drop it off at CanSurvive (??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????????) located in 11 Mahgoub Thabet Street, Agouza and call +2 (0111) 1381-188 before going.

– Enjoy your new look!