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BAHRAINI baker Mona Shakib is supporting the Movember’s hairy upper-lip movement by handing out a cupcake to every ’tach-sporting customer backing an annual global health campaign.
The 31-year-old founder of Retro Mama, a delicious baked-goods store located in Reef Island, decided to encourage the kingdom’s hairy ones by giving them a treat to look forward to.
Movember is an annual 30-day moustache-growing charity effort to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.
Mona, from Janabiyah, said: “I didn’t know what Movember was till last year when I saw a lot of people with moustaches. I did some research and decided that Retro Mama had to take part in it this year.
“Many people discuss the struggle women face with cancer but I feel there isn’t much focus on men. I think everyone should take Movember seriously and do their part in supporting our men.”
Men growing a moustache are invited to a free Mo cupcake at her outlet but must be willing to have their photograph taken and for it to be posted on the store’s social media account on instagram @retromama_bh.
Mona said: “I wanted to set up a friendly atmosphere for men to enjoy their favourite cupcake but they must also allow us to take a picture of their moustache to post on our instagram account. It’s a fun way to raise awareness.
“A lot of our customers are excited to be a part of this and are happy to be raising awareness for the month of Movember.”
The hair-raising campaign originally started in 1999 when a group of young men in South Australia coined the term Movember and the idea of growing moustaches for charity throughout the month of November.
The group started with 80 men from Adelaide and soon became a nationwide phenomenon. In 2004, an unrelated group in Melbourne organised an event where 30 men would grow a moustache for 30-days in order to raise awareness for prostate cancer and depression in men. This group would later become the Movember Foundation charity which is the leading global organisation committed to changing the face of men’s health.
They call their moustache-growing colleagues Mo Bros and their female supporters Mo Sistas. The word Mo is an Aussie slang for a moustache.
During the month, the Mo Bros become walking, talking billboards sparking conversation about the cause and rallying family and friends to donate funds in their names on www.movember.com to be used for various programmes covering men’s health issues.
The Mo Sistas also play a vital role in the success of Movember by supporting and encouraging the men in their lives to get involved. They too can sign up on the site to raise funds and awareness themselves.
The Movember community has raised $559 million to date and funded more than 800 programmes in 21 countries with many clubs and workplaces in Bahrain supporting the initiative.
* GulfWeekly’s normally smooth journalist Kristian Harrison has also joined the Movember movement by signing up to raise funds. Support Kristian’s hairy efforts on https://uk.movember.com/mospace/1132765
