Kuwait Times

Published Date: May 27, 2007
By Iona Bateman, Staff writer

Sporting the hijab is  considered a sign of modesty in Kuwait. Sporting a shaved head, in the eyes of one Kuwaiti teenager is a sign of sacrifice and charity.
Eighteen-year-old Nada's story begins with a Korean classmate whose mother was diagnosed with cancer and had no choice but to leave her family here in Kuwait and return to her home country for treatment.

Non-Kuwaitis represent about two-thirds of the country's 3.4 million residents. Yet they are not covered with the same level of medical care and will not receive certain life saving drugs to treat long-term fatal illnesses such as cancer if they are able to cover the costs themselves. Your chances of survival may depend on the color of your passport, or the size of your bank balance.
Someone very close to Nada is also suffering from cancer and since this person is an expatriate they were also ineligible to receive the treatment they needed and could not afford to cover the costs themselves.
 
This person was at the Makki Juma's hospital when representatives from the Jaber Al-Ali and Fintas Zakat Charity Committee made weekly rounds to cancer patients and offered to provide the funds for treatment free of charge. Stunned by their generosity Nada was inspired to do all she could to thank them for their extraordinary kindness.

Making a point

During her school's charity week she and classmates decided to hold a sponsored head-shave to raise money for the cancer charity. That's where Nada's problems began. Several female students and members of staff were keen to take part and the school was concerned that it was an inappropriate hairstyle for women and would reflect badly on the school. They were told the event must be cancelled, but Nada realized that raising money and awareness for this issue was more important than the threat of disciplinary action, and since it was her final year she decided to take the risk and continue to raise funds independently.

Along with classmate Zade she began emailing companies in Kuwait seeking corporate sponsorship to boost their cause since they were no longer permitted to raise funds within their school, but was disappointed by the complete lack of interest.

"I emailed countless numbers of companies and press but nobody was interested, no one even emailed me back. All our sponsorship came from individuals. People really made up for the fact the companies didn't bother, I'm really proud of the people I know."
 
As the day of the head shaving neared Nada had already raised over KD 1000.
On the night of her graduation, immediately after the ceremony, she gathered with her friends and family by Kuwait Towers with a pair of scissors, an electric razor and a lot of guts. Surrounded by family, friends and curious onlookers cheering her on as her long tresses, cut only once before in her life, fell to the ground.
 
Her hair was gathered to send to locksoflove.org, a charity which collects hair to make wigs for children who lose their hair due to chemotherapy or other illnesses. For Nada who works as a model in her free time to fund her own university education this was a huge sacrifice, her hair was not only a part of her livelihood, but also her personality and femininity.

"People who know me would say I've been known to do crazy things from time to time. I just didn't want any negative attention for my family more than anything. I didn't really think I was doing anything wrong but because of the society we live in there were a lot of people trying to use religion against me, saying there were things in the Quran that state women should not resemble men and men should not resemble women. But I think that's an unfair argument. Some girls have alopecia or their hair falls out from dying it too much or during chemotherapy treatment; baldness isn't purely a male thing. Cancer comes to anyone it doesn't discriminate through gender or religion."

Appearance vs heart

"I shaved my head as moral support for those who lose their hair through cancer, to say that you don't have to be ashamed or cover up because you're bald, because of society. You can be proud of having no hair and you can still be beautiful," she said.

After receiving so much support prior to shaving her hair she was amazed at how supportive people continued to be. "I got so much love from it." But she also experienced some of the harsh realities of life without hair. "It shocked me how many people associated me with my hair, so many people didn't recognize me. I really saw how important appearance is to people, especially in Kuwait. It's almost taking your personality away. Having no hair is like a focus and people immediately label you as being ill."

Despite the few negative responses, Nada chooses to focus on the positives saying that this event has changed her whole outlook on life and hopes that her story will inspire others to donate whatever they can to the cause.
 
"I think people should remember that cancer does not discriminate. You don't have to be a smoker you don't have to have an unhealthy lifestyle, cancer can come to anyone. It could come to you or your sons or daughters. Just a few dinars, whatever you can afford... if enough people contribute it can make a difference, even if it just saves one person's life. People often don't do things like this because they think there's so much wrong in the world so where do I start? What can someone like me do to make a difference? One person can make a small dent and others will join and together we'll make a huge hole in the system."

Charity begins in the heart

The President of the Jaber Al-Ali and Fintas Zakat Charity Committee Mohammad Al-Otaibi set up the charity in 2005 after his own daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

While visiting her in hospital he saw how much the expatriate patients suffered and decided he should do all he could to help them. They work in cooperation with the hospital and when an expatriate is diagnosed with cancer they will be given the basic treatment they need to make them comfortable.
 
The Kuwait Government will offer most medications, operations and procedures for free or the minimum cost. For example KD 2 per night in hospital. But the newest and most expensive drugs are limited to Kuwaiti nationals including many of the latest cancer treatments.
 
This is where the charity steps in. They take expatriates who cannot pay for their own medication and accept them into the program, paying all of their medical bills. If it wasn't for the charity they would have to try and raise the funds for treatment themselves. It costs on average KD 1000 per month and on average each patient needs over a year of treatment which they would never be able to afford without the charity's assistance.

The charity currently has 150 patients in the program and so far 15 have been entirely cured of cancer. The most common forms of cancer seen within this group include lung cancer, leukemia, breast and prostate cancer and in the last month alone they have spent over KD 60,000 on providing treatment for these patients with all funds to the project coming from private sources.
 
Not only do they cover medical costs but they also support the patient's family, paying for their rent and the children's school fees. One woman who lost both her husband and son to cancer continues to receive support from the charity. If the man within the family is diagnosed with cancer and his family relies on him for sponsorship their company usually extends their residency to ensure the family can stay together.
 
"The country cares about them from a human perspective. It doesn't cancel their residency and send them back home until they're completely recovered," she said.
The government also works closely with the charity providing assistance with paperwork and doing all they can to support the program.

A mission to help

Providing money for medical fees is just one half of the mission statement for the charity. Co-founder Hoda Taresh also stresses the important role their social workers play in the recovery process. Through their 'Journey Of Hope' project they have built up a team of social workers who have battled with cancer themselves and survived to tell the tale. They volunteer their time to visit patients still suffering from cancer, providing much needed moral support in their most desperate hour.
 
Faith plays an important role in this process although they are keen to stress that the charity welcomes those of all faiths. All patients get equal support regardless of their nationality or religion, Christian, Muslim, Hindu etc. Everyone believes in something and this can greatly assist them in getting over the depression and despondency they may experience.

Umm Mohammad is one of the charities brightest beacons of hope. Diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer in 1999 she was eventually cured in 2005 after three operations to remove her womb and ovaries. Cancer took from her but it also gave her back so much more. She feels that the disease motivated her to see life differently.

"It's as if I was looking one way and God turned my face to look in another direction," she says. After she was cured, she realized she had the capacity to embrace more projects than ever before and do more work for others. She now gives lectures on her struggle with cancer and how she defeated it to give others more spiritual support in their time of need. She has a strong message for those currently battling cancer.
 
"You have to believe that you can actually defeat the disease or it will defeat you. Have patience, have hope. Open your window and look at the beautiful world around you and realize that the person who created this beautiful world can surely cure you of cancer. If you live the life of someone who is sick you will die but if you live positively and with hope you will surely live. Your faith is your fate."

Their stories

Three of the program's current cancer patients here today also have remarkable stories to tell. Abu Anas lived with cancer for 12 years telling no one, not even his wife and family as his parents were elderly and he didn't wish to burden them with his illness. His incredible strength of mind enabled him to keep his secret through 12 years of painful treatments.
 
"I just tell myself I don't have cancer, the doctors tell me I do but I don't feel it," he said. Even the doctor admits he has never met a stronger man both in body and mind. In fact all three of the men before me look healthier than most people I know and certainly challenge the common misconceptions that cancer is a one-way ticket. "Cancer isn't always fatal. We can go at any time any how and just because you have cancer you shouldn't give up hope."

A hopeful life

Othman Al-Sadiq, an Egyptian expatriate, was working in Kuwait in 1999 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. His weight rapidly dropped from 90 kilos to 45 because fear of the word cancer was so great. But then he realized it was just another disease, that it had a cure and there was hope. He received a KD 60,000 bone marrow transplant - the first person to have this operation in Kuwait with all the fees covered by the Kuwaiti government. Before this project began he received aid from some of the many charities in Kuwait which offer support. Before the formation of the Jaber Al Ali and Fintas Zakat Charity Committee patients had to go to several different charities to cover their different needs. This is the first charity to cover all the patients' needs from the first diagnosis until they are cured, supporting their families and tracking their progress.
 
Having lived and working in Kuwait for over 30 years Othman says he grew up here, he got married here, had his children here, got cancer here and was cured here. So he says he feels Kuwait is his true home and he hopes he can be buried here. In the meantime he also volunteers for social work within the hospitals.
 
Nasser Kamal is a Christian Egyptian who was diagnosed with leukemia nine months ago. He lost hope and thought that he had no chance for survival because the treatment was so expensive. He feared they would only treat Muslims but when he discovered they don't discriminate between Muslims and Christians he found new hope - that he would live to see his children grow up. He never expected so many people to help him and feels he has already defeated the disease because of all the support around him.

The president of the organization Mohammad Al-Otaibi hopes the message they can deliver to the world is that cancer is nothing to be afraid of as it can be defeated. Don't fear the word cancer and don't allow the fear to consume you.
I feel so inadequate in my attempts to condense the stories of the amazing people I have come into contact with during the writing of this article, and the overwhelming sense of hope that threads its way through each of their lives. I began thinking this would be a story about cancer, death, and mistreatment of expatriates, but it's grown into a story of hope, compassion and that one person really can make a difference, even you.
 
If anyone wishes to contribute in any way via donations or by offering their services they can do so by getting in touch with the Jaber Al-Ali and Fintas Zakat Charity Committee at Tel: 383 3111.