Teenager Raises Over N15m for Kids With Cancer by Shaving His Full Afro Hair, Plans to Get N380k per Cut
- The teen, identified as Kieran Moïse started growing his hair while in the eighth grade, moments after losing one of his friends to brain cancer
- Kieran decided to shave off his hair after seeing people donate their hair to children who had lost theirs during cancer medical treatment
- Kieran had raised about KSh 4,000,000 (N15,219,593.22) for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as of Saturday, June 10
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Who knew at some point in this life, hair will be something very important and lifesaving for that matter.
Well, a US-based teen recently confirmed to the world that hair is not just that and can be used to help a number of people, especially those battling cancer.
He once lost a friend
The Alabama teen who goes by Kieran Moïse, 18, decided to shave off his hair which he had grown for about six years to raise funds for children with cancer.
CNN reported that Kieran started growing his hair while in the eighth grade, moments after losing one of his friends to brain cancer.
According to Kieran, he decided to make the move after seeing people donate their hair to children who had lost theirs during cancer medical treatment and wanted to do the same.
This was made public by Kieran's mother Kelly Moïse, 49, who shared with CNN about her son's journey to help children affected by cancer.
His mother said:
"Kieran has always been known for his hair. It was a big part of his personality and who he was. But he has always been the most compassionate and caring person. Since he was 6 years old, he somehow had the mindset of raising money and giving it to people who need it, and that never changed."
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Keiran to join the US Air Force Academy
Legit.ng understands Kieran graduated from high school in May 2021, with an impressive 19-inch Afro.
However, he had to trim his long afro for the cancer kids since he was set to join the US Air Force Academy.
Well, to improve the impact of his initiative, Kieran organised a live event at a US-based brewery in Huntsville and another online fundraising campaign called "Kieran's Curls for Cancer," where he aimed at raising KSh 100,000 (N380,489.83) per inch cut.
About 100 people showed up at the event on May 29, where they got the chance to see Kieran get his afro braided and cut off.
How he raised the money
His braided afro was donated to Children With Hair Loss, a non-profit organization in Michigan that makes free wigs for kids and young adults facing medically related hair loss.
As at the end of the event, Kieran had raised about KSh 2,000,000 (N7,609,796.61) for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
His initiative continued to raise money online and had raised over KSh 4,000,000 (N15,219,593.22) as of Saturday, June 10.
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Another kid stood for a cause
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a thoughtful little boy made the decision to donate his hair to a worthy cause. Nine-year-old Reilly Stancombe from Essex in England had been growing his hair since he was only a little baby. His mother, Daisy Stancombe, explains that he had always had long hair as a baby.
The decision to finally cut his hair after nine long years came after the length became "too much" for him.
After his visit to a local barbershop, Reilly said that he "loved" his new haircut. He also said that he decided to donate his hair after he saw children who've lost theirs to cancer.
Source: Legit.ng
Joseph Omotayo (HOD Human-Interest) Joseph Omotayo has been writing for the human interest desk since 2019 and is currently the head of the desk. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with a degree in Literature in English in 2016. He once worked for Afridiaspora, OlisaTV & CLR. He is a 2022/2023 Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking fellow. He can be reached via: joseph.omotayo@corp.legit.ng.
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