The Pink Picture
Anne Frank said “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment to improve the world”. Thousands of volunteers throughout South Africa and Namibia worked around the clock on the Pink Trees for Pauline 2015 initiative to raise funds for their cancer communities. They did so without avail, not wasting a precious moment to improve the lives of those affected by cancer. The aim of the registered cancer organisation Pink Trees for Pauline is to raise funds in order to assist people affected by cancer with their right to access to cancer treatment.
The hearts of the Pink Trees for Pauline volunteers are what keeps the engine room of this project pumping 24/7. Each of the 109 plus towns involved in this project has its own inspirational story which makes this project come alive! You come across angels like Lydia Simon, a librarian at Reigerpark Library, who steers the project with very little funds available but with so much enthusiasm that she has her community and schools running in her footsteps. In De Aar, Chantelle Geel refused to be discouraged by nay-sayers. With unwavering gusto she started the project for the first time in the small town of De Aar and sold almost 1,3km of fabric. The media in De Aar was astounded by the positive reaction of the town’s community, as they realise now that they have raised the funds for their own cancer community.
Annie Smith of the Western Cape Department of Health raised funds in Kuilsriver and step by step she and her team raised R10 000 for their cancer community. Belinda Hobson also started the project for the first time in their small village, Sedgefield…the first Slow Town in South Africa. Sedgefield was definitely not slow where it came to raising funds and wrapping their town in pink! In the small West Coast village of Melkbosstrand, Anne-Marie and David Evans of Rawson Properties challenged their small community to purchase 2km of material in 2015. Melkbosstrand took up their challenge and they are well beyond the 2km mark! We also have a deep appreciation for Cansa’s involvement this year. The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) went all out in support of the Pink Trees for Pauline initiative during the 2015 project and supported volunteers without hesitation.
The 2015 project are not without ‘pink moments’ that make one so emotional it is impossible to hold back the tears. Pink Trees for Pauline Somerset East let 400 white and pink balloons go during a service on Sunday 11 October 2015 where the lives of the cancer patients in their community were celebrated. Pink Trees for Pauline George adorned the town’s Christmas tree in pink lights as a symbol of the community’s support to everyone in George affected by cancer. The Pink Trees for Pauline Stutterheim committee started their project in style by driving through town in a red Rolls Royce. She said the moment that touched her hart probably the deepest was a picture of pink fabric tied to a window…dancing in the wind. It was tied there by a girl who lost her mother to cancer.
Martin Luther King, Jr said “Never, never, be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” Thousands of Pink Trees for Pauline volunteers did not look the other way this year but did what they could for their cancer communities.