No Shave November: We’re creating Safer space for men to talk about issues affecting them, Ngao Credit

November is here and we are all familiar with what happens during this month. It’s the month where men voluntarily put their shaving razors away for 30 days, commonly known as No-Shave November, or Movember, if you like.

Maybe someone in your office or household or yourself participates in Movember without knowing the reason behind it. This is a global annual event and seeks to grow awareness about prostate and testicular cancer and make men embrace their hair, which many cancer patients lose. 

The month also focuses on mental health and suicide prevention.

No-Shave November is a fun and creative way to remind folks that many of our families, friends, neighbours, colleagues etc. struggle every day to fight cancer.  The organizers of this campaign, therefore, calls for donation of the money that would have rather been spent on hair care, to cancer support centres and educational organizations that educate about mental health and suicide prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting these battles.

The rule of No Shave November is simple: just grow your beard for 30 days and donate your monthly expenses to support cancer patients.

Ngao Credit, however, wants to do things differently. The company will be encouraging its male staff members to show their solidarity in this campaign by shaving their beard. The idea is to bring all men together and provide them with a safer space where they can openly speak about issues affecting them. 

For a long time now, men have always been afraid to speak out. When things go wrong, they feel ashamed to talk about it. They don’t want others to know they have messed up, because it means admitting that they’re not perfect. Whether it’s a big mistake at the office, family issues, financial challenges, domestic violence, verbal and emotional abuse, etc. men have always shied away from speaking out because they think they will feel or look weak in the eyes of the world, they fear being judged. 

It’s unfortunate that society has made men believe that it’s wrong for them to be vocal about their struggles,  a narrative that Ngao is seeking to change with the shaving campaign.

Ngao Credit acknowledges the fact that toxic masculinity is still very much alive and is contributing to things like mental illness and even alcoholism among men. Hence, the leading financial services provider is on a course to bring men together, allow them to speak and support each other, without fear of being judged or sidelined.

Ngao wants to make men aware and realise that it’s okay to have obstacles in life, and that it’s okay to talk about them because sharing is part of problem solving. Then from that, a solution can easily be arrived at as opposed to just keeping quiet, which has worse ramifications.

Follow us on social media to check out the different campaigns we will be running about this throughout the month of November. 

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