Midhurst teenager shaves head in mum’s memory and to help children in Kenya

A teenager from Midhurst has shaved her head three days after her 18th birthday in memory of her mum and to raise funds for Kenyan school children.
Christ's Hospital pupil Lydia Thornhill who is from Midhurst has shaved her head in memory of her mum and to raise funds for Kenyan school children SUS-190207-145823001Christ's Hospital pupil Lydia Thornhill who is from Midhurst has shaved her head in memory of her mum and to raise funds for Kenyan school children SUS-190207-145823001
Christ's Hospital pupil Lydia Thornhill who is from Midhurst has shaved her head in memory of her mum and to raise funds for Kenyan school children SUS-190207-145823001

Lydia Thornhill, who is in year-13 at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, lost her mum to cancer five years ago and wanted to shave her hair off to raise awareness for cancer research through Macmillan’s ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign.

The shave took place on Saturday June 29 and Lydia’s hair is being donated to the Little Princess Trust which provides real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other conditions.

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All the funds that Lydia raises are going to the charity Classrooms for Kenya. Lydia travelled to Kitale in Kenya on Monday July 1, the day after her head shave, along with a team of more than 50 pupils and staff from Christ’s Hospital, on a mission to build six new school buildings for three impoverished schools, over three weeks, in partnership with Classrooms for Kenya.

Lydia said: “Shaving my head for cancer represents an act of solidarity with my mother who passed away.

“But it has also helped me to fundraise towards Classrooms in Kenya; building the classrooms in person seems a really substantial and meaningful way of getting involved and helping Kenyan children.”