Florida girl shaves it all for a good cause
‘You may receive weird looks, but just remember, you did it for a good cause’
“This 12-year-old daughter of ours bravely decided to donate her hair to the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa). This was for all our friends who have cancer and those that we recently lost to this dreaded disease.”
“Denika, you inspire so many people,” said Teresa Kloppers, the mother of Denika du Plessis, who shaved off all of her hair recently.
Denika said that she wanted to do something to show her support for a worthy cause and explained, “I believe you must be the change you want to see in the world, so I decided that I want to give back to the community by donating my hair to Cansa. About three years ago, I wanted to shave off my hair to donate to Cansa, but I changed my mind, as I felt I was not ready to take such a big step.”
The biggest motivation behind her decision was not only the many people in her life that have been affected by this disease – her mother also played a big role in her decision. “I know many people who have cancer or have had cancer, and although that played a big part in my decision, my biggest motivation was my mom since she has shaved her hair for Cansa before,” Denika said, smiling.
Denika describes herself as a bubbly and very talkative Grade 6 learner, with a wide spectrum of interests. She does not only participate in water polo, netball, the marimba band, dancing and choir, but is also a member of the scholar patrol and a library monitor. She said, “You could say that I am quite busy, but that does not interfere with my academics at all.”
She added that she has had the privilege of having very supportive friends, who have stuck by her. “My friends are amazing people. They have definitely influenced my view on everything I have done throughout this year, and I would like to thank them and tell them I love them very much,” said Denika.
For Denika’s parents, Teresa Kloppers and Christiaan du Plessis, their daughter’s decision did not surprise them very much, and they explained, “Denika has always been a very brave and bubbly girl who has always wanted to help others where and how she can. This decision just followed suit, and we were not that surprised. We support her fully.”
Teresa added that Denika has made some other grown-up decisions before this one, and explained, “She has always chosen charities above birthday presents, which is part of her giving nature. With the money received as birthday gifts, she has adopted rescue animals from the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sancob), bought pet food for the animals at the Friends of Rescued Animals (Fora), and she recently adopted a monkey at the Johannesburg Zoo.”
Denika said that she was not sure if she would be donating her hair to Cansa on a regular basis, and concluded with the following message to those who are thinking about doing the same: “The main thing is to build the self-confidence because a lot of people are going to look at you and say you look ‘weird’, but you must remember that in your heart you did it for the cause and that is all that matters.”
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