“What happens to children who have cancer?” was the question that Maite asked her mother, when she was 8 years old. The answer caused the girl to decide donate your hair. The gesture grew and his mother along with two women joined the proposal. “Braiding Wills” Dedicated to hair collection for oncology wigs.
Mariana Ludueña, Maite’s mother, is an Oncological Physiotherapist and in 2019, she and her group of friends were dealing with the illness of one of their members. Therefore, the girl had doubts about the subject. When asked, The woman told her about the oncological wigs and unleashed Maite’s decision.
“He asked me if he could donate his hair. So we found out and I found Vanesa Durán. Although Maite didn’t have the length yet, she still stood by her decision and we started taking care of her hair. We cut it as soon as it reached 25 cm. because she was anxious”he recalled Mariana in communication with Via Córdoba.
Maite, who is now 12 years old, said that at that time she only wanted to “make children and adults with cancer happy.” “It made me happy to see myself with short hair. I told my friends at school that I donated and two more joined in: Zoe and Valentina,” the girl explained.
A decision that sparked a chain of solidarity
That small and emotional gesture prompted Mariana to turn to her hairdresser friend. Claudia Gonzalez to tell you an idea: cut the hair of the neighbors who show solidarity and then take them to the Vanesa Durán foundation in the city of Córdoba.
“The decision of the companions allowed me to speak with Claudia to see what she thought about asking for permission to join the Trenzando Voluntades campaign. We spoke with the foundation and We became the first headquarters of Vanesa Durán in the interior”Mariana said.
The next step was to frame the idea in an official institution. Therefore, they requested authorization from the Municipality of Alta Gracia and received support from the city’s Trades School, place where cuts are made.
Now, Trenzando Voluntades de Alta Gracia has the work of Claudia González, who makes the cuts, Georgina Ruzafa, who is a hairdressing teacher at the School of Trades and also assists the volunteers, and Marianawho continues to support the organization.
Girls with grown-up worries
With the achievement of this goal, Maite and Mariana look back feeling proud of their decisions. “My profession is to relieve the physical and, above all, emotional pain of patients. And it means that some values are mirrored in the children and that is very important.“said the woman.
Maite is one of the many girls who donated and joined the proposal that has been in the city of Alta Gracia for more than three years. The organization even highlighted the gesture of a girl named Dolores who has already donated her hair twice. “She is letting it grow to donate it again,” Claudia emphasized.
What is the hair donation process like?
The foundation is responsible for free washing, cutting and drying for volunteers let them donate their hair. The only requirement is that it can be cut a 30 cm “tail”.
After this, the hair is brought to the Vanesa Durán Foundation where the destination is selected: some tails go to Buenos Aires and others, to the United States, where wigs are made. From there, they return the finished product and They are provided on loan to those undergoing chemotherapy.
“It is very difficult to access a natural hair wig. In this way, the loan offered by the foundation is a great work that facilitates the situation for women and girls who are in this process«, he expressed Claudia Gonzalez.
“One has had to shave people with cancer or alopecia and has empathy with that situation, and We know that hair loss is very important for women«, he completed and assured that Every two months they come to Córdoba to leave between 40 and 50 donated tails.
WHERE TO DONATE HAIR IN CÓRDOBA
- Those who want to donate and have those 30 cm. of hair, You can go to the Alta Gracia headquarters or directly to the Vanesa Durán Foundation, in the city of Córdoba.. And those who cannot meet the requirement, there is the possibility of buy products in this website that support the expenses From this project.
- In addition, those people who want to donate hair can do soMonday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Women’s Integral Pole (Entre Ríos 680).