Thank you! It’s early for my birthday, but I received a gift anyway. Someone (whoever you are, I adore you) has nominated 50 Good Deeds for a Ninjamatics’ 2012 Canadian Weblog Award. Two, in fact: This blog received nominations for both the “Activism & Social Justice” and the “Life” categories. Ninjamatics will continue to collect nominations until the end of November, and winners will be announced in January.
Speaking of people to adore, have you heard about Basma Hameed? She makes a noble living helping others, and now she’s preparing to do it for free for a week.
It all started with a severe oil burn when Basma was a toddler. In the years since, the Toronto woman underwent over a hundred surgical procedures to repair damage and scarring to her face. But Basma was still insecure with her appearance.
Then she had an eyebrow tattoo – and an epiphany. She enrolled in aesthetician school, learned tattoo artistry, and promptly fixed her own facial scars using skin-tone-coloured inks.
Basma was so thrilled with the results that, in 2007, she opened a clinic and began treating other people with scars and birthmarks.
As you might expect, the ministry of health isn’t exactly falling over itself to pay for folks to get tattoos. But Basma has decided that price shouldn’t be an obstacle. Starting May 21, she’ll offer her cosmetic tattooing services free for the week.
“I’ve been given a second chance to live and I’m grateful for everything, and I feel like this is another life for me,” Basma told a reporter. “I think I was put here for a reason, and I want to give back as much as possible.”
50 Good Deeds 