The Woman in the Mirror

A staggering 800 women turned up last Saturday for the annual Hats & Roses fair in support of the work of the Cancer Association of Namibia. This event also launched Pink Month, the association’s current project to put the spotlight on cancer prevention and treatment for women.
The theme of the event was “The Woman in the Mirror” with popular South African singer, Chris Chameleon, entertaining the audience in word and song, while the all-Namibia vocal group, Essence and Chirsto Biewenga added spice to the captivating entertainment.
More than N$170,000 was raised during the morning in ticket sales, donations and a raffle. The proceeds go to the Patient Financial Assistance Support Programme of the Association, to assist Namibian women fighting cancer.
In a pre-recorded special message of hope by First Lady Monica Geingos, she made a strong call for a unified approach in the fight against cancer. “ This is a collective fight – it takes the diagnosis or loss of a loved one to take the message of early detection serious. Let’s talk about cancer – talk to your mother, your sister, your daughter, your colleagues and talk to you domestic worker! We must all start to talk about this disease” she said.
The Cancer Association’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rolf Hansen reiterated that in a time of technological advancements it is not acceptable that the message of cancer awareness and education is still shunned: “we have the tools and the media – we now need to break the stigma and talk openly about this disease that is affecting so many of us. Share, tweet, text, WhatsApp and Skype are media at our disposal – let us use the information and tools and become educated in order to save lives.”
Together with Spar Namibia, the association launched the “Power Punch for Pink” T-shirt to bolster fundraising during Pink Month.