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I shaved for my Aunty who suffered from Wegner’s granulomatosis
by Sharleigh Smith recall telling a few of the Nura Gili staff about the event I was organising for World’s Greatest Shave just after my interview for a job as an Ambassador. I’ve been involved with Nura Gili for three years, and am now going into my second year of Arts/Law at UNSW after coming through Nura Gili’s Pre-Program. When Nura Gili staff asked me to write an article about my endeavour to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation, I thought I knew exactly what I’d write.
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But now that I’m here, I find that explaining my decision and the motivation behind it isn’t quite so easy as I’d thought. The ‘moment’ wasn’t particularly unique; there wasn’t an outburst of compassion that stemmed from some sudden tragedy in my life. I was standing at the sink rinsing out some cups and the advertisement for the World’s Greatest Shave had come on the TV across from where I was standing. I hadn’t looked up, and the only thing I made out over the sound of running water and the clinking of glass was “be brave and shave”. I
thought, why the heck not? Within the hour, I’d been online and I’d signed up as a shaver. I’d set my fundraising goal at an ambitious $1000 and secretly prayed that I would reach at least $500 in the six weeks before the day I’d designated for the shave. I made an event on Facebook, made a joke about changing the lives of those with blood cancer “one hairless head at a time” and appealed to my friends for support. That was Monday, and by Sunday I had already hit $1,000. To say there wasn’t a tragedy in my life would be untrue. My aunty had been diagnosed with Wegner’s Page 1
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granulomatosis three years ago, which is a rare type of vasculitis. I’d known she was sick, but I was away with Uni and trying to establish a stable life for myself in Sydney and the reality of her illness hadn’t caught up with me. By some cruel twist of fate, her health declined a week after I made the decision to do the World’s Greatest Shave and two weeks before I shaved my head, she passed away. It’s not easy to write about now, because I still feel a lot of guilt and am too scared to let myself feel the grief of it because of how it will affect my ability to function. Even though I’d made the “noble” decision to give up my hair, I’d still taken someone I loved for granted. So the day itself, though dedicated to her memory, was a day of sadness. But we have managed so far to raise $3,200 - more than 300% of my original goal - which will help patients and families battling with the reality of life-threatening illness. What this journey has made me realise though, is that it is in our power to make a difference in the lives of others. We can all afford to give - if it’s a little change from our pockets, or a little of our time. You will be surprised at how big a difference even the smallest gesture can make. It may even exceed your expectations by 300%. If you want to learn more, you
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can visit the World’s Greatest Shave website or the Leukaemia Foundation’s website: www.worldsgreatestshave.com www.leukaemiafoundation.org.au
Sharleigh Smith is an Indigenous student currently studying Arts Law at UNSW. She attended the UNSW Indigenous pre-program in Law in 2011.