‘Go Bald’ is here again

KUCHING: The season to ‘Go Bald’ is here again. Come May, the crowd in Kuching and various parts of Sarawak will be speckled with shorn heads as this signature event by Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) celebrates its seventh year.

In late 2008, Rodney Wong of SCCS casually asked me if I was willing to shave my head to spread awareness of childhood cancer.

“No,” I said immediately, and then amended, “Maybe.”

SCCS was small and getting by, held together by a group of parents who found and clung to each other for support as they navigated their respective families through the ordeal of a child with cancer.

They first got together in 1999, and didn’t get registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) until 2001. This was the same year they opened their first centre at Jalan Maxwell, a convenient stone’s throw away from the Sarawak General Hospital.

In 2009, I was in the chair facing a wall of cameras and multiple stares of fascinated horror as a hairdresser buzzed my waist-long hair off at the scalp. SCCS went all in for this drastic revamp of their image, roping in a younger set of event organisers with a different set of ideas.

In turn, the young group sold the idea to organisations such as The Borneo Post, and to individuals such as blogger Kenny Sia.

Since that first “are you crazy?” moment, Go Bald proved to be a trend setter, drawing more and more people each year as the first and largest head-shaving event in Malaysia.

This brought in the funds they needed to build a complete facility that can support families uprooted from far-flung places.

Each year, prospective ‘shavees’ organised their individual campaigns better, raising donations in greater figures and spreading the word about why this is important.

In 2011, Datuk Lorna Enan Muloon convinced Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to match what she raised for SCCS. That cheque came in at RM1 million.

In the same year, Go Bald went to Miri for the first time.

In 2013, Sibu went bald. This was also the year SCCS kicked off their first Youth Camp for survivors, and their second iconic event – Colour Rush, a fun run where everyone got messily colourful with food grade powder dye.

More significantly, 2013 was when the new SCCS Centre opened at Taman Desa Wira, which was everything they were working towards, thanks to the people of Kuching, various parts of Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

In 2014, Go Bald went to Bintulu and Colour Rush went to Miri. Go Bald 2014 raised RM1.1 million and caused 1,829 bare heads.

In 2015, I sat in the conference room of the SCCS Centre with Jodie Sim, whom I first met as a volunteer in the weeks before the first ever Go Bald. Now, she was speaking as the society’s manager of programmes and services, a development she didn’t see coming after staying on as a regular and working up the courage to get shaved herself.

She told me that Go Bald’s Satellite Shave will take place in Sri Aman (April 12), and that Colour Rush is going to Sibu.

We discussed their eye-popping 2015 budget of RM4.9 million, their highest ever which simultaneously gave them more wingspan but also made them very conscious of where every sen is going.

“Go Bald is our major fund-raiser each year. For us, this is more than just a ‘trend’. It contributes 60 per cent to our overall income,” said Jodie.

Donations from the general public and corporate bodies account for 30 per cent, while the remaining 10 per cent comes in the form of government grants, fixed deposit and merchandise sales.

“People have this preconception that NGOs are run (for free) by volunteers. We have nine full time staff including a manager, administrators and accountant. We have a caretaker and driver who live at the centre. The driver takes the children and their family to their hospital appointments.”

Two support executives are based at the Paediatric Oncology ward in Sarawak General Hospital – one to work directly with the children, and the other to counsel caregivers and do social work.

SCCS is in the process of setting up smaller centres in Miri and Sibu, where patients in the vicinity can go for follow-ups rather than making the trip to Kuching. These locations will also require staff.

They have already acquired a single storey semi-detached house in Miri, with a budget of RM1.5 million, and plans to renovate and put to use this year. They have RM1.2 million set aside for a halfway house in Sibu.

For the first time, SCCS could afford to put RM1.5 million into a reserve fund, enough for three unrelated bone marrow transplants, a procedure only possible when a matching (non-related) donor is found.

“Unrelated bone marrow transplants are very rare, and only two hospitals in Kuala Lumpur can do it. The specialist at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital is away so only Subang Jaya Medical Centre, a private hospital, can perform this,” said Jodie.

Last month, SCCS donated RM220,000 worth of medical equipment and medical consumables to SGH’s Paediatric Oncology Ward 2A, another thing they could afford to do in helping the hospital fortify their services.

Part of the funds also go towards organising Golden Child Camps (GCC), a camp for the whole family to come together, have some fun and create good memories. The camp has been going on strong for the last 14 years and involves 78 families from Kuching and Miri.

There is a Youth Camp to bring together survivors and active treatment patients between the ages of 15 to 25.

Jodie said that most of the survivors who are in their teens are shy about coming but for their first time, they are allowed to bring a buddy, be it a good friend or a sibling.

“There are 22 of them. We try to get them involved in our activities, such as volunteering for Go Bald. We have six or seven of them in Kuching who are active.”

Last year, SCCS also launched the Wishing Star project, which grants the wish of palliative care patients. Jodie said they have granted wishes such as giving the patient an iPad he asked for, and taking another patient and her family to Legoland.

Having a centre that fully caters to patients and their family while they are in Kuching seeking treatment is a boon, often because these families are from rural Sarawak and cannot cope with the expenses of keeping their child healthy.

However, it also causes unexpected but amusing side effects. In between hospital visits, there is not much caregivers can do so they often succumb to boredom.

“They started putting on weight. We are thinking of how to give them more recreational activities while they are here,” Jodie said.

So far, there have been knitting classes, crafting and yoga for those interested. Part of SCCS’s objective is to create fun and joy for all concerned as it is an important part of healing.

Thanks to public interest in Go Bald, SCCS has been self-sufficient so far, raising enough funds to cover its expenses.

“Just do things right and people will come and they can decide if this is a cause that is meaningful to them,” she said.

As the most active children’s cancer organisation in the country, they hope to inspire other states to set up their own chapter.

Go Bald 2015 is hoping to raise RM1.5 million with 2,300 going bald in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri.

It will kick off in Kuching on May 3 at CityOne Megamall, May 10 in Sibu at Delta Mall, May 25 in Miri at Bintang Megamall and May 24 in Bintulu at Parkcity Everly Hotel.

Pledge cards are available at the SCCS centre in Taman Desa Wira from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, CityOne Megamall Information Counter from 10am to 9pm daily, AD Jeans at Plaza Merdeka and Boulevard Shopping Mall from 10am to 9pm daily, and the Go Bald roadshow at CityOne Megamall every weekend.

To find out more, visit http://sccs.org.my or their Facebook page at fb.com/swakchildrenscancersociety.