By Modia Batterjee

“So?…what you wanna do?” she asked me while I stared at a group of caterpillars in the bushes. “I dunno, let’s take one each and see if they turn into butterflies” I responded. My friend ran to the kitchen and came back with two glass jars and lids with holes she punched in them. We were ten years old back then. This was the beginning of our adventurous friendship, since then, Heba and I were always up to something.

Seven years later…

“So?..what you wanna do?” she asked me while I listened to the radio in her newly painted purple room. “I dunno, let’s cut it in half and take one half each, we can make them into pendants”. The next day she came to school to surprised me with the silver riyal cut in half, one for each of us to wear as a pendent and keep as a token symbolizing our friendship.

Eighteen years later…

“So?..what you wanna do?” she asked while I enjoyed the nail spa over looking the Red Sea and Corniche. “I dunno, I guess you are right, we do need to do something for breast cancer, after all it is October, and Al Bidayah is a women’s awareness center”.

Heba always had great ideas, those caterpillars did eventually turn into butterflies, and I still have and cherish the half silver riyal pendent. I couldn’t say no, she was right our center did need that big event that placed it on the map.

“OK, under one condition, you help me make it happen, and you accept an official position as the center’s manager” was my response to her question. She agreed, and we began planning the For a Rosy Life: Breast Cancer Awareness Ladies Evening scheduled to happen within two weeks of that day. Honestly, it was a challenge!

Sponsored by  companies like CLOROX, NAPCO, and cosponsored by Muchos, Manna center, Future Med, and Pink or Blue, the night of October 27, 2008 in Al Bilad Hotel Amira Ballroom was an “amazing and very successful evening” (according to many who attended). I opened the evening by introducing Al Bidayah Breast Feeding Resource and Women’s Awareness Center. Then I explained that the focus of the center is to empower local women to improve their lives by improving their understanding of their own health. A woman is the center of the home, she needs to be supported, educated, and given a positive perspective and she will then be able to improve her family’s life and create a healthier lifestyle for them. That in turn will reflect on the entire society.

Dr. Samia Al Amoudy spoke very eloquently about a woman’s right to proper health care. Dr. Afaf Tawfiq gave a beautiful lecture on breast disease and self breast examination. Both were comfortable at speaking in front of a crowd of 200 people and both were able to give a positive perspective to such a feared disease. Our fourth speaker was a guest who was kind enough and concerned enough to come from Riyadh. She herself had been a victim of Breast Cancer and came to introduce us to Al Zahra Breast Cancer Society. She was able to properly demonstrate that there was hope. She showed the guests that there existed in our country a charity society where women can find a positive arena to seek professional advise, support, and genuine help to meet their needs while struggling with breast cancer. These wonderful speakers helped us accomplish our objective; an elegant, supportive, and emotional evening. Everyone wore pink ribbons to show support.

We ended the night with a Doaa (prayer) that was especially composed for our guests and for all the victims of Breast Cancer. Throughout the evening we had been asking every guest to give us the number of ladies whom they knew that had ever been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. For each victim we tied a pink ribbon on a golden tree.

The prayer and our thoughts were directed toward every woman represented by a pink ribbon on the tree. “May Allah grant each one the patience the power and will to deal with her suffering and aid her speedy recovery.”

“So?…What you wanna do next?” she asked.