The Power of Community charity calendar, as every year, is the culmination of the campaign 'BreastFit. Women's Bust. Men's business'. The idea behind the calendar is to show how important male support is for women during prevention and treatment. Every year, Polish athletes, identifying themselves on a daily basis with the idea of male support, who are also BreastFit Ambassadors, play the role of models in the photos published in the calendar, among them: Qczaj, Michał Karmowski, Rafał Gil, Bronisław Olenkowicz. This year - for the first time - the models in the photographs are accompanied by women: participants of the Breastfit Prevention Workshops.
- This year's edition of the calendar is unique, says its originator, producer and photographer: Jakub Popławski. - Firstly, we took all the photos in unique open-air locations, showing the beauty and diversity of the Polish countryside. To take photos for the calendar, we travelled all over Poland this year - from the Tatra Mountains to the Baltic Sea. It was a big challenge for the whole team, with thousands of kilometres driven behind us and photos taken in various conditions, sometimes after a long wait for a 'weather window' that would allow a good shot. Secondly, for the first time, our models were accompanied in the photos by women: ladies from local Rural Housewives' Circles who participated in the workshops organised by the OnkoCafe Foundation, including the BreastFit Prevention Ambassadors. All of this adds up to unique photographs, showing the collaboration between woman and man as the basis of every action.
Prevention in Rural Housewives' Circles
Women of all ages participated in the Breastfit prevention workshops held in the Village Housewives' Circles; it happened that ladies came to the meetings with whole families, and daughters, mothers and grandmothers learned prevention at the same time. Men also participated in the workshops. - An involved, supportive partner is a huge help for a woman, both during the illness, at each of its stages, but also in prevention," says psycho-oncologist, Adrianna Sobol - very often it is he who mobilises his wife, mother, sister or friend to do a check-up or make a doctor's appointment. In this edition of BreastFit, we were not disappointed with the men. They took part in our workshops, actively participated in the discussion and asked questions. For us, this attitude is proof that men know exactly that the disease does not affect only the woman, but the entire family, whose safety and well-being they must also take care of.
BreastFit ambassadors
More than a hundred women took part in the trainings organised by the Foundation and some of the workshop participants, after additional training, were certified as BreastFit Prevention Ambassadors. The role of the Ambassadors is to train women in their community, both during the training sessions they organise and during informal meetings. The BreastFit Ambassadors are also in regular contact with the OnkoCafe Foundation, where they can always ask for emotional support or substantive help.
- During the BreastFit workshop we learned the main principles of prevention and we don't keep this knowledge to ourselves," says Marlena Kułak from the Jaromierki Rural Housewives' Circle - We have already organised 4 meetings in neighbouring municipalities, attended by more than 60 girls and almost 30 men. In addition to these organised meetings, we also talk about prevention at home and among friends. You could also say that we are the liaison between the girls and the Foundation - when one of them tells us that something is worrying her, e.g. when she senses something that looks like a tumour during a self-examination of her breasts, we know where to refer her. The Foundation will always support her in such a situation, allow her to calm her thoughts and suggest what further steps she should take.
Calendar can be purchased in the online shop of the OnkoCafe Foundation Together Better, all proceeds from its sale will go to support breast cancer patients.
Source: cowzdrowiu.pl