 When beauty comes from within, it gives room to realize and appreciate the aesthetic value of someone or something. Rejection, pain, hopelessness and stigmatization ensuse cancer survivors worldwide and when left unchecked, this may lead to life terminated at an early stage. Furthermore, when outer and inner beauty is injured, it leaves a deep hole in many and destroys self-confidence in several beautiful souls. Meet the beautiful Diana, both at heart and in appearance, a Kenyan beautician who has put it to task to restore the image of such cancer victims. I'm a business lady, I run a salon here on Gong Road at Marsabit Plaza and apart from being a business woman, I'm also a philanthropist. I normally do a lot of charity work, especially with cancer survivors. Those are the people I've decided to work with. The sad experience of losing her best friend to the cancer men is was the greatest motivation behind this initiative, Diana tells me. I was a very, very good friend of mine, actually we were very close. She was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago and I saw the journey, how she lost her hair, how it affected her self esteem and it wasn't easy. So one day I decided to do a makeover on her before she passed on and she was very happy. She told me, you can share the pictures on social media, let people see what you've done. So I sent the pictures of the transformation and that was just the beginning. People started inboxing me, my daughter has cancer, can you make for her a wig? That's just how it started, I don't charge them anything because I feel the pain, the journey is very expensive and so to me just to see them smiling is all that I need. So it's something I've done so far and I can't believe it's already five years. Day as popularly known, texts me through her journey on how she started a local charity where she provides wigs to cancer survivors and I must mention at no cost. No. 1, we have to have at least some medical records of some proof. We just don't give anyone because somebody might just decide to shave her hair bald and say, ah, did me I have cancer at a wig. So it's possible it happens. So we have to check on that and then another thing that I normally put emphasis on is I like to give to the ladies who have lost hair completely because you might find some they've gone to their chemo, it's done by their hair is growing back but there are some who are completely bald so the people I encourage more I'm like please give a chance to this person who doesn't have hair completely. So normally those are the ladies I want to work with the ones who are totally bald those are the ones that I work with but we normally try to get medical records. Luckily, some of our clientele and people should barely know chip in to help raise funds and wigs for the cancer patients. As long as you're a cancer survivor and you've come to my establishment and we have proof that of course it's cancer we do not charge you at all but normally I get donations from people and even well wishes who come to the salon and they drop wigs so at least that way it tends to cut the cost but normally for the survivors we don't there are no hidden charges whatsoever. Once she receives a request from the patients she organizes for a booking of the wigs installation. Let me say I don't really have a particular day because if anyone feels like my door is always open if you just inbox me and tell me I have my aunt and she needs a wig I'll just say that come there's always a wig to give but if I have a major event that's when I can say maybe I give a notice of about a month or two for me to plan myself so sometimes we can do like major events I can say like about maybe 4-5 times a year where I can say about 30 people but now because of the COVID it's hard to have a big number of ladies to come so we're trying to limit the numbers as much as possible you'll find sometimes maybe the ladies who come for the makeover some come from quite far because I used to get even some who used to travel overnight they're taking a bus from Kisumu they're coming to Nairobi to come for the makeover so you might find when they come here in the morning they need to have at least some breakfast they're tired, we need to sit we need to eat so it's normally it's something that takes time so of course you have to consider they need to have some biting and stuff so there's always that there's prayers normally after that people pray and then there's also they talk about their journeys we give everybody a chance to talk about the journey how the healing process is what they've gone through just to motivate each other it pleases me to see a smile on the faces of the victims once fitted with the wigs Diana tells me what motivates me the most is when I see that person smiling and excited and for that particular moment the pain disappears you know they forget about the journey so when they come to tea and they sit on my magic seat they forget about the kimo they forget about the hair loss because they know when you get there it's just about me making you feel good about yourself because when I see that lady looking at herself in the mirror and saying, my god I'm so beautiful I'm like, yes so seeing that smile and the hope motivates me every day that really gives me so much joy in my heart normally it's priceless because you might find some of the survivors are neglected there's this stigma somebody maybe has been left by the spouse so when they come here and they get that makeover I'm telling you some cry tears of joy they don't even want to go to sleep because they're thinking the makeup will just run out so it's normally a very very they're very grateful they're normally very very grateful fun enough they don't even tell me what they want because when you come here you know imagine you don't even have the hair you don't even have the eyebrows maybe the hairs or so when you get there you just like did do your thing I've never found someone who's so particular like maybe I want my because they're normally like this is even good enough for you to invite me is just enough so I never get clients who are I mean survivors who are farsi to a point maybe when it comes to hairstyles because there are some ladies I might want to give the wigs and maybe she's older and maybe I'll give her this kind of wishes me and mamama I want a short one or you might get a young girl maybe at 15 or 20 you give her a short one she's like no D me I want something long like for Beyonce so you have to be considerate about their feelings at that time on the list of our support system is her family which is very thankful too her daughter especially who has followed in her footsteps and is playing quite a big role in her mam's initiative I have a very very supportive husband and my kids are also amazing they really really you know they really go out of their way when they know I have a makeover they'll be like ok mam we're going to come what do we make so they're very much in touch with what I do and then sometimes I feel sorry for my family as well when maybe I lose a survivor and when they go or maybe one passed on they'll know today mam is not ok I'll just lock myself in the room and my husband like just give mam some time because when I tell them I've lost something so they know mam needs her time and then my employees are just amazing people when the survivors come for a makeover they know they're not getting paid because they know I'm not going to charge them so they're willing they have amazing hearts they're like oh she's a survivor we'll do our make up we'll do how we and they know that because I always tell them blessings come from God nothing is about money because the minute you're going to make this lady happy she will bless you and your family and you know so I teach them to learn to not everything is about the money so I can say that I have the most amazing team and out there I think when I walk people nowadays have known me as the cancer survivor lady everywhere I walk oh this is D the one who does makeover for cancer survivors even maybe when I go out maybe I'm going somewhere even to watch something I just want my time someone will come and tell me oh D I see what you do you're so amazing you know and God bless you I think it's a very positive impact to everyone as a whole I am the make up artist I specialize in make up specifically I help my mom with the cancer occasions as we help her cook we help her do the makeovers we set the mood we just like to make them feel young again like the whole point of our presence with my sisters just to keep them in a whole mood honestly me and my mom are quite close and I feel very comfortable and very I feel comfortable working with them working here it's where I get to be myself I just enjoy it's really it's made a nice place with a smile lifting on the corners of her face to reveal her unconventional compassion for cancer survivors this is how she responds when I inquire about the male cancer victims the men maybe if they could come for a pedicure such but mostly the ladies affected the most because a hair is a woman's glory so imagine you don't have the hair you don't have the confidence so for the men also we do a bit of maybe shaving or they can come for a pedicure but for ladies those are the ones I work with a lot to help us understand more Diana paints a clear picture of some of the challenges the victims undergo stigmatization being one of them what I normally I hear a lot of stories and maybe I interact with someone one on one I think people should learn to be more loving and supportive because there's no way someone very close to you can be diagnosed with cancer and then you decide I'm not going to work this journey with this person that's why I think maybe as a community or as we should try to we should try to love give love give support that's why I was really hoping that so many people can come into this and just because without that support you get a total mental breakdown that's what even kills people faster just the fact that you reject it so I think people should be more loving people should be more considerate people should visit the sick anytime love them support them that is it's even in the Bible love just be supportive because you don't know tomorrow might be you so would you be happy to be treated the way the other person is going through you wouldn't want that so I think people should just love each other and help and support anybody who is sick though she gets no funding at the moment from the government or non-governmental organizations her wish is for these organizations to step in and boost her initiative at the moment no I don't have any sponsors I'm not lucky there yet normally I'm just working as an individual and only well wishers who just walk in and they'll call me and tell me hi Di I went to London and I came back with some 3 weeks can you bless a lady can you imagine oh my gosh people are so kind out here I can't even tell you so I get a lot of well wishers who support me or maybe a client will come she's used her human hair wig maybe 3-4 times it's like Di can you style it and treat it and bless someone else so I can say God has been good very good friends and good well wishers so far I'm grateful but I wouldn't mind getting sponsors to work with them maybe help me in this journey but maybe God style whenever God decides having been in the industry for over 20 years Diana has no plans of stopping anytime soon but rather has great plans for the future I've been in this industry for 20 years and of course I went to Pivot Point International for beauty in here we are amongst the first students to do it to take up the course then after that I decided to go into business so far it's been a good journey it's something that I've loved doing it's something that it's a talent I have and a passion so when you combine both it's just amazing in order to receive blessings in abundance we need to give back to the community in whichever way possible I'm not a rich human at all I struggle like any other Kenya I struggle to pay my bills like any other Kenya but sacrificing that 2000 to change someone's life I think you can do it in any small way you know you can even just decide let me just this lady is sick let me just cook for her even a kacha point you don't really need to go deep into your pocket to make somebody happy whatever you have whatever small that you have just share help where you can even if you see your neighbor now get to know your Nyumbakuminitiative get to know how is mamana needing the way I have she's not feeling well imagine just take Unga even for 20 bob you know people you don't need to be rich to help anyone there are a lot of challenges because sometimes you might find let me talk about the survivors you might find I have a list of about even 50 survivors and I only have like 10 weeks and maybe the demand is high and you can see the economy is crazy right now so that one is a challenge sometimes getting the weeks because that's when you know if you get sponsored like you know other come it could be easier but since I'm doing it myself it's very challenging of course with the covid of course it has affected a lot of you know our business type of you know the way we do our salon and cover shop it's really been affected but you know you don't give up you just learn to we'll just have to learn to manage and learn how to live with it there are many cancer cases in Kenya and all over the world today we celebrate our beautiful heroine Diana also known as D for taking lead in supporting cancer survivors in her best way possible if we all join hands in support of such great initiatives then we are bound to achieve immeasurable success