ExSSA – Los Angeles Impact Day from LA: Carat Nina Foyabo Takes the Lead
Impact day in LA is off to another level with a Carat (Children of ExSSANS) taking charge. Yes Nina Foyabo is clearly showing that she has been brought up to be selfless and to know that beauty is not marked by superficial things. At 14 most teenage girls worry about their looks. For most black girls having long hair is a mark of beauty promoted by the media. Well, Nina Foyabo did not blink when she decided to donate her long hair to “Locks of Love” a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 21 who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss. This decision took even her mother, Judith Caspa Foyabo, by surprise. As Judith explains, “I thought she was joking 2 months ago when she first mentioned it. I played it down thinking it was a phase that will pass away.”
No, it was not a phase. Nina pursued her cause by watching videos on how to donate hair. The more videos she watched the more she realized that only Caucasians, Asians and Latinas were donating. She could not help blurting out to her mom, “black kids have cancer too you know, and I am going to change that”. She sure did! She followed that by downloading the instructions and the donation form. On the donation form, she made sure she included the fact that she was donating her hair to kids who look like her because she felt not many donations were coming for them. As they say, the rest is history. Her longest donation was at 14 inches, shortest at 12.5 inches and 1.5 inches left on her head. Wow! Mommy Judith is extremely proud of her daughter and in awe at the way she empathized with the suffering children, especially those of color who are marginalized at another level. ExSSA USA is even prouder. We salute Nina Foyabo for joining ExSSA USA in our effort to make an impact beyond our immediate families. We salute the Foyabos for raising a child with such humane values. Nina’s hair will go a long way to make an impact on a child suffering from hair loss, but her action is sure to have an impact on any one who reads this. What have we done lately for someone less fortunate that us?
