Shave for India

This is Pete. Pete is Phil's brother. Beards seem to run in the family these days.
Pete is raising money for a good cause and is willing to shave his beloved beard to
raise the the funds. Check it out x

My name is Peter van der Wel and I have a beard. There's a lot more to me than a beard but most people see the beard before the Peter. I haven't always been of the bearded sort.

It was at the young age of 16 that I first discovered some sideburns upon the sides of my face. At 17 my facial follicles had activated further around my face to establish a "beard". Things continued to grow from there. Come forward several years (and several beards) to May 2012 and It's time for a passport renewal so I have a quick shave, no big deal, just a shave. Little did I know what was to come.

I've always liked beards and gone through some stages of larger beards or smaller beards. But this one just lost the plot. 6 months past. 12 months. I am bombarded by both compliments and encouragement as well as abuses and scissor and knife wielding family members and "friends". Currently I haven't shaved for 16 and a half months. But there often comes a time in life when one must shave. But only for a price. Shaving a beard of such luscious and glorious proportions as one such as mine is a bit of a big deal. So I figured I'd make a big deal out of it. Thus Shave for India.

I'm shaving my beard off to raise funds through Compassion for Critical Intervention work in India. I love this country and their people and this is just a small way in which I can help.The main objective of this critical intervention is to help 100 caregivers of children registered with Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program in southern India to learn new business and income generating skills, enabling them to gain self-sustaining employment, increase their household income levels and meet their needs and the needs of their families. Due to the low employment rates among women in the participating communities, the intervention will focus specifically on training and equipping mothers.

Some of the benefits for these women will include:
- families being able to earn sufficient income to buy food enough for two meals per day
- reducing the number of parents and families forced by poverty and unemployment to migrate in search of work
- reducing the need for parents and caregivers to leave their homes and communities and children to look for
work in major cities
- the children being able to attend local school and Compassion’s program activities regularly.

As you can see this isn't just a gift that'll have a one-off impact, but a long term positive impact on these women, their families and their communities. (Let me know if you'd like more information regarding this project).

The funding required for this project is $16,500 which I know is quite ambitious - but still definitely achievable.

If we can raise over $10,000 I'll fully shave off my beard.

If we can also raise the remaining $6,500 I'll also shave my head down to the skin.

When will this momentous event occur you ask? Saturday November 16, 2013.

Note: If not enough funds have been raise for full beard removal I'll just remove the amount corresponding to what's been given (e.g. only 90% funds raised = 90% of beard removed)


"He who sacrifices his beard for a woman deserves neither ...
... However he who sacrifices his beard for 100 women deserves your donation!"
The facebook is https://www.facebook.com/petershaveforindia

The donation page is https://compassion-community.everydayhero.com/au/peter-ShaveforIndia