A school friend's experience at home with cancer and her own grandfather's battle with the disease motivated 17 year old Aucklander Neha Kolhe to shave her full head of hair for a cure.
“I was planning ahead for my 17th birthday, but my mind kept going back to the conversations I had with my friend. I decided I was going to do something that would make a difference to somebody else, rather than myself. I saw an advertisement on TV about a little girl who had lost all her hair because of chemotherapy. That's when it struck me, I was going to try and raise funds for Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBCNZ),” says Neha, a Year 12 student at Mt Roskill Grammar .
She plays inter-club and inter-school badminton, and represented Auckland for the last three years at the U15, U17 and U19 teams at Nationals. A star student, she achieved excellence in NCEA Level 2 and in some subjects in Level 3 for which she was recognized by Mr.. Phil Goff at a school function. Neha wants to become a Vet.
“I read about LBCNZ's fundraiser 'Shave for a Cure' and decided that's what I was going to do. Shaving off all the hair on someone's head shows support to patients who lose their hair during cancer treatments.”
The plucky teenager roped in her friends, family and the community to fundraise and her target was 5000. She managed to raise 6,500. She started her campaign by set up a on LBCNZ's website.
“I held raffles at three different locations. I fundraised through Auckland Marathi Association by making around 450 gulab jamuns and sold them at the Ganpati festival function. I held a very successful bake sale at school. My friends and I baked a lot of goodies and sold it at school. We printed and distributed posters and flyers too,” she says.
Sure, on the day, she had jitters, but in hindsight is pleased that she was able to go through with it on September 21. She says her school and friends have been extremely supportive. “School principal Mr Watson allowed me to speak at school assembly. They have assured me that no-one will make fun of me once I have no hair,” says Neha.
The Kolhes, originally from Mumbai, are a closed knit family. Neha lives with her younger brother Neel, parents Maneesha and Abhay, and grandparents in Mt Roskill. They are very proud of Neha and what she has done. When she first told her parents about her decision, they were taken aback.
“We were concerned, how would our family and friends would react to this radical step. In our culture, shaving off the hair is done when there is a bereavement in the family. We were opposed to this to start with but when we read more about the cause and how this will help society in general, we agreed with Neha and backed her decision all the way,” says proud dad Abhay Kolhe.