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Storyteller Mahmood Al-Yousif has captured the trials, tribulations and successes of Think Pink in film form in a bid to motivate members of the community to never give up and prove how anybody can make a positive impact through sheer will and grit.
The Thinking Pink - Resetting the NGO Model documentary, which took around two years to complete, was inspired by the dedication and determination of Think Pink charity champions Julie Sprakel and Tahera Al Alawi.
Mahmood, the founder of Arabia Video, said: “I saw Think Pink as a society, as a charity and as a non-governmental organisation that charged ahead to make a difference and gained quite a lot of attention in the community.
“That is when I started asking myself – what actually drives these people, who are they and what benefit can they do for the country as a whole? What can we learn from that particular experience?”
Mahmood contacted Julie, the founder and president of the society, to offer his services to help her and the ladies, free of charge, on their mission of increasing awareness on breast cancer.
“I got to know Jules and Tahera, the vice chairperson, quite well and I was continuously impressed by them and inspired by their actions as well,” added the veteran photographer. “People come and go, but they always remained as static parts of Think Pink pushing through, even in the darkest moments. They wanted to help people and to them helping one single person is enough for them. That is what drives them – their own goodness! “And despite the negative comments that they had against them and any kind of unfounded accusations that were thrown at them, they continued to push through, to augment their message and to propose it for others to follow as well.”
The society started in 2004 when Australian-born intensive care nurse Julie made it her mission to help educate people about breast cancer after her grandmother, aunt and mum suffered from cancer. She was in her 20s when she received two cancer scares herself. On her 30th birthday, Julie asked people to donate money to breast cancer charities instead of buying her presents. When she discovered there wasn’t a dedicated charity for the cause, she set out to start her own.
“The success that they have achieved so far is a clear indication of the unselfishness of the cause and that’s how they got quite a number of people and corporations backing them, from a three-year-old girl who wanted to donate to the support of Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
“For two women with a few friends to have the tenacity, the persistence, the patience and the drive to go and raise more than a half-million dinars in order for them to gift that particular device back to the community through the health services provided by the government is an indication and that is a story, a story I wanted to tell.”
