WE DID IT!!! YOU DID IT!!!

Our $10,000-target has been smashed and we had a buzz cut party to celebrate our collective efforts to help Save the Children in Myanmar. Those of you who aren't in Myanmar and couldn't join the party, please check out my Facebook page for some videos & pics...

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED ME DURING THE CAMPAIGN. I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU.

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IN BRIEF (not my usual style…but I know many of you are busy peeps)

WHY? I want ALL children to have the best chance to grow up and grow old - gracefully or disgracefully, no matter where they come from

WHAT? I am giving you lovely donors - who sponsor my Buzz Cut - the chance to choose a crazy colour for my hair before I shave it all off a couple of weeks later. What will it be? PINK or BLUE? Come on... you know you want to see me looking silly for a great cause!

WHERE? I am doing it in Myanmar to help the many children suffering here in the community I live but I will be "broadcasting" it for all to see so don't worry... if you are on social media you won't miss it!

WHEN? Fundraising starts now and will run for a month or two until I hit my target of $10,000. Please be part of my fun initiative :-)

HOW? First - please donate generously via this JustGiving page by hitting the lovely red DONATE button and giving the biggest amount you can. Remember that EVERY LITTLE COUNTS so please don’t be shy, please just give whatever you can afford. Collectively I am sure we can do amazing things together.

Can't make an online payment? Please contact me by email on donations@idcreativesolutions.com or via Facebook Messenger if you need to make a cash/cheque donation in person, especially in Myanmar.

Second - if you make online purchases (especially at Christmastime) please sign up to Go Raise (www.goraise.com) to give a donation boost to Save the Children International from the online retailers when you shop via the Go Raise website. This is at NO cost to you... the retailers pay! Yeyyyyy!

....And now for the intrepid and the curious, here's the detailed version :-)

WHY? Ask yourself a question…How do you want to grow old? Accepting your grey hairs as strands of silver glitter and your wrinkles as proof that you have loved, laughed and sometimes lost…? OR rebelliously in a constant state of reinvention and a willingness to embrace the unknown?

Whether you choose to grow old gracefully or disgracefully …either is great. It’s the growing old part that matters. And that’s the real challenge for many developing countries whose longevity is often threatened by easy-to-prevent illnesses.

But what if the odds of EVEN getting to 5 years of age were stacked against you? What then? How powerless are you as a tiny infant when you do not have the ability how to choose how to live your life? How much is at stake if your parents are disadvantaged, lacking financial resources and knowledge about simple measures that can be taken to ensure you have the best start in life and the best shot at surviving and thriving? Well that’s the case for many children in Myanmar….

WHAT? So that’s why I decided to do a “Crazy Colour & Buzz Cut” for Save the Children Myanmar. The idea is this… You love my kookiness and you support my cause by sponsoring me to shave my head. In the process of making your donation you can choose whether I dye my recently bleached hair PINK or whether I dye it BLUE…

WHERE? As many of you know, my husband Gabriele and I have been based in Myanmar since September 2012 and we would like to give back to the community by doing this initiative. Almost all our CSR programmes and charitable undertakings relate to providing support for children or young people. This personal project is no different except we have agreed with Save the Children UK that or ALL funding will be directed to Myanmar in order to support their important campaigns here. Once such campaign is a breastfeeding and infant development programme and YOUR donation REALLY matters because……

§ Myanmar is among the 24 high-burden countries with the largest number of children under five years old who are chronically malnourished (stunted)

§ More than one-third of Myanmar’s children suffering from stunting. Stunting is due to a wide range of causes, including poverty, illness, food insecurity, and lack of basic nutrition knowledge

§ Less than a quarter of infants in Myanmar are exclusively breastfed, and many young children are fed diets deficient in protein, fat and essential vitamins and minerals

We believe that malnutrition in young children can be mitigated if mothers are supported to exclusively breastfeed their babies until the recommended six months of age, and have the knowledge and means to introduce healthy and nutritious complementary (first) foods to their young children.

Will you help us help the children of Myanmar? Your donation to my “Crazy Colour & Buzz Cut for Save the Children Myanmar” will help mothers - and communities - through education, outreach and other strategies, to recognise  the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and to attain the knowledge and resources to be able to provide their children with healthy complementary foods to promote optimal growth and development.

Save the Children’s humanitarian programme also identifies children suffering from acute malnutrition, and provides treatment and education to prevent malnutrition in the community.

WHEN? Well that’s the million-dollar (or $10,000) question but here's my answer. The aim is to fundraise until I think I have made enough money to make a difference. For those of you who supported me during my 2012 charity buzz cut you will recall that I set a target of £1,500 ($2,000) and we smashed it, with 115 supporters and 3 "own donations" raising a total of £4,342 (over $5,500).

But we have to BEAT that this time, right? Which is why I have set it at $10,000 but I am willing to fundraise for the “Crazy Colour” part until 16 December 2018 regardless of where we are in the process. Why this date? Because it marks my Grandfather’s birthday (he was the ripe-old age of 89 years old when he passed) which seems to be fitting moment given that my aim is to give the children of Myanmar the best possible chance to get old!) and I will then dye my hair either PINK or BLUE according to the votes by you - my sponsors.

A further couple of weeks of fundraising will ensue - just long enough for me to go around with my “Crazy Colour”, to get people tasking and to raise awareness for Save the Children. The “Buzz Cut” part will take place early in the New Year to give people a chance to sponsor me if they missed out before.

HOW? On the recommendation of Save the Children I am using JustGiving as it is their preferred platform. You can make a payment in a number of different ways (credit card/PayPal etc) so I thank you in advance for your generous donation.

If you don't have the means to pay online and would like make a cash or cheque donation in person (especially in Myanmar) please email me on donations@idcreativesolutions.com or write to me on Facebook Messenger for more information.

Remember that EVERY LITTLE COUNTS so please don’t be shy, please just give whatever you can afford. Collectively I am sure we can do amazing things together.

As mentioned before if you make online purchases (especially at Christmastime) please sign up to Go Raise (www.goraise.com) to give a donation boost to Save the Children International from the online retailers when you shop via the Go Raise website. This is at NO cost to you.., the retailers pay! Yeyyyyy!

So…THE NEXT STEP? If you love children and you want to help me make a difference then I ask you to please HIT that lovely red DONATE button and give the biggest amount you can. I will be saying GOODBYE to my BLONDE locks of hair (this is the longest my hair has ever been in my 44-year life) and braving the colour you choose for me. PLEASE STATE “BLUE” OR “PINK” in the comments section when you make your donation so I can see what your preference is.

A couple of weeks later I will then be saying GOODBYE to ALL my hair to give the disadvantaged children of Myanmar the best start and best chance in life. It is a small price to pay to help children grow up and get old, don’t you think?

By the way... if you made it DOWN TO THE END of this page you are SIMPLY AMAZING and deserve a BIG SORCHA HUG ;-)

I hope you will support me and THANK YOU for your kindness - mietta in Burmese.

BIG LOVE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART

Sorcha xxx