Today I saw a poster in the Bond Street Tube Station which really caught my attention. It was a part of the campaign started by a charity called “Changing Faces” which wants to create awareness about the pain and suffering of those with facial disfigurement.
Those whose lives are happy and peacefully uneventful, those who have not known injuries or crippling illnesses may never know the distress of those who have to live with scars or asymmetrical faces. People are so used to seeing everyone healthy and normal, deeply engaged in the race for long-lasting youth and physical beauty, that they often can’t bear to see a face which is not “normal”. People either look away or are unable to hide their sense of horror or even repulsion. Either way they end up hurting the disfigured person. Children with disfigured faces get bullied at school and the adults can never get a good job. Those who most need compassion are often treated as if they were invisible.
Our world is full of information but has so little wisdom. By starting this charity to help those who have this particular handicap “Changing Faces” is doing a truly commendable work. For more information look up changingfaces.org.uk
Here is one more sign that London is indeed a city with a heart.
