4.20 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

What made this cute UAE school boy shave his head?

Liam in school uniform (right) Liam shaved head

Published
By Shuchita Kapur

You don’t have to be a big organisation to undertake work that speaks of social responsibility or be an active member of Red Crescent to give back to the society.

Charity and helping the needy can be done at the smallest level and even children as young as 10 or 13 can help make a difference.

Take the case of Liam Rennie, aged 13 years and a student of Dubai British School in the city. This young student took a drastic measure to support the group - Jeans for Genes charity, an organisation that helped his family in a time of need.

Liam lost his aunty to cystic fibrosis when she was just a baby but the effect it had on his mother spawned his affinity with the Jeans for Genes charity.

“Liam started his campaign in June by asking for sponsorship to shave his hair on the last day of term at the start of the summer holidays, knowing that the school does not allow shaved heads. For this, he has collected Dh2500. But this is the beginning,” said a spokesperson of the school. 

”After thinking of many crazy ideas to raise money, shaving my head seemed like a good idea,” says Liam. “My parents and friends are very proud of me. It has taken me two months to grow back my hair. I love playing football, swimming, basketball and some PlayStation. This made me think of all those children with genetic disorders who can’t do the things I enjoy,” he added.

In his quest to help people who suffer from the disease, Liam’s school has supported him to help the charity group - Jeans for Genes today.

A good 1000 plus students in the primary and secondary school together with the teachers will pay to wear jeans to school today. A minimum contribution of Dh10 per person will be collected.

Jeans for Genes Day raises money for genetic disorders and aims to change the world for children with these disorders. Genetic disorders are caused by an alteration in DNA. This may mean that either a gene or several genes are missing, repeated or in the wrong order. Altered genes can affect a child's senses, movement, ability to learn or appearance.