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There are three hours in which they can forget their fate for a moment: During the feel-good mornings organized by make-up artist Catharina Flieger, 36, and photographer Birgit Machtinger, 40, people laugh, chat and exchange ideas. In addition, the participants get a lot of tips and tricks in terms of styling. "The loss of hair is always a very sad topic for our women We keep hearing '' you feel so naked without eyebrows and eyelashes ''. The point is not that they want to hide their illness, but it is often a kind of self-protection from funny reactions and questions, "explain the" Feel Again "founders Flieger and Machtinger.
Give a few nice hours as a present
Cases of illness in the family and among friends were the reason for the two entrepreneurs to found the association in 2019. Her motivation: "Unfortunately, we cannot relieve anyone of the pain, fears and anger, but what we are trying to do with all the means available to us is to give them a few nice hours from which they can take a lot."
Her commitment is well received: "For many, with hair loss, femininity is also lost, their old personality, their old self, which they want to rediscover and find here. Others come to our course to forget their worries for once and to chat and exchange ideas with participants who have experienced something similar. Often great friendships develop and suddenly they are no longer alone. One of our participants once said: 'Family and friends can take care of you, but only those who have walked the same or a similar path will really understand you. ‘"
Remind them how strong they are
Machtinger documents these moments that arise during the workshops with the camera. The recordings show how much strength and courage to live there is in women. "Once the daughter of one of the participants wrote to us, that she hasn't seen her mom as happy as in the pictures for a long time. " This encourages the two of them in their work - even if they are currently facing some challenges: "We finance and through grants and subsidies and through donations. The latter fell sharply in 2021. We would like to expand the workshops to other federal states will be possible, unfortunately we don't know yet."
The Burgenland women are nevertheless confident: "We have seen that we can simply use our skills, be it make-up tips or beautiful portraits, can achieve and help a lot - and we are very grateful for that. We always think of this appropriate saying: 'What would be possible in this world if everyone helped the other.'"
According to Statistics Austria, around 42,000 cancers are diagnosed in Austria every year.
