American Bedu

I am very pleased that Saudi Arabia has become much more proactive in the War Against Cancer.  The initiative of Zahra Breast Cancer Association under the sponsorship of HRH Princess Reema bint Bander Al-Saud continues to gain momentum.  Now there is a Facebook page created to keep everyone apprised of the actions and events surrounding the plans of the ten Saudi women who are going to climb to the Mt. Everest base camp towards raising awareness of breast cancer.

Additionally Saudi Arabia is starting to go pink!  Men can now purchase shirts which show their support and awareness of the women who are battling breast cancer.  These are much needed steps in Saudi Arabia where breast cancer warriors and other types of cancer warriors have been known to fight their battles in private without necessarily having a support group or resources available to them.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, I recently participated in a program, Cure by Design, sponsored by the American Cancer Society.  In this program fashion designers and local merchants teamed up with cancer warriors to produce a red carpet fashion show to raise funds for use in the War Against Cancer.  The models were comprised of men, women, teens and children.  After all, cancer does not discriminate by sex, age, ethnicity, location or religion.

The Cure by Design was an exciting and fast-paced event.  I arrived at the Ritz Carlton hotel in downtown Charlotte at 11:30 hours to prepare for the main event which was kicked off at 19:30 hours.  During the time, we as cancer warrior models met and bonded with one another as we practiced our runway struts and enjoyed the pampering of professional hair and make-up treatments.   

By the time 19:30 hours rolled around we were all ready and excited to make our runway debuts.  In between the model walks of the runway an auctioneer presented items which had been donated to the cause towards raising funds.  Attendees relished the bidding frenzies that took place with each item presented.  At one point there was a ten minute break from the fashion show with the auctioneer advising attendees that the goal was to receive US$10,000 in donations to American Cancer Society before the ten minutes expired.  I’m pleased to say that the goal was met.

It was a long day but I came home that night pleasantly sleepy and very satisfied from having participated in such a worthy and honorable event.

If you’d like to see the photos from the event and see if you can spot American Bedu, here is the link.

In closing I’d like to add God Bless my late husband who fought a valiant battle in his own private war against cancer.

Abdullah Othman Al-Ajroush

09 June 1956 – 08 February 2010

May he rest in Peace.

Filed under: America, breast cancer, cancer, Charity, friendship, Health, Saudi Arabia, Saudi education, Uncategorized | Tagged: America, cancer, Saudi Arabia | 9 Comments »