Two brothers have told how they grew long locks for five years to donate to a charity that makes wigs for little ones who have lost their hair.
Caleb Thekabwork, 11, and his 9-year-old brother Aaron from Philadelphia stopped cutting their hair after watching a 2016 documentary about a girl who donated her hair for a wig for a toddler with cancer.
The brothers, who were then only seven and five years old respectively, were inspired by the film and started growing their hair out.
Earlier this month they cut off their 48cm braids and donated them to Wigs for Kids, a charity that makes wigs for little ones who have lost their hair to illnesses.
“Growing hair for four and a half years was difficult because the hair was constantly tangled when we were swimming and we had to stand for hours to untangle it,” Caleb said.
I kept reminding myself why I was growing my hair. I continued because I wanted to achieve my goal no matter what. »
The boys endured bullying, long showers and endless hair-drying for almost half their lives, and eventually grew curls 48 centimeters long.
On February 4, World Cancer Day, Aaron and Caleb went to the hairdresser for the first time in their lives, where they solemnly cut their braids.
Wigs for Kids allows donors to keep track of their hair, and Aaron said he can’t wait to meet whoever gets it: “I want to meet this person because everything I’ve been thinking about for four and a half years, that’s how we’ll meet and I’ll see him smile. »
The brothers plan to grow out and give their hair back in the future, but they want to take a break to try new hairstyles first: “I’ll probably wait a year or two to try different hairstyles, because until ‘now I only wore tails,’ Caleb said. “We look like boys now!” Aaron added.
