£400 to make a transgender woman's dream come true

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Regulars at a Jersey bar are clubbing together tonight to help a transgender woman's dream of buying a real hair wig come true, after she lost her own hair as a teenager.

Sam is in the process of having a sex change after being turned down for the procedure 33 years ago.

She is now 58-years-old, and started losing her hair when she was 16. She was unable to let it grow after that.

Unable to afford a wig, she asked he friend Jo Baran for help. Ms Baran explains: "I help serve at the Prince's Bar from time to time and Sam surprised me with a letter. She comes every Wednesday in the bar for the open mic night and she is well known among the locals. When she gave me the letter I just thought 'I can't leave it like this. I have to do whatever I can to get it." 

The two women became friends after meeting while out and about in town. Ms Baran explained: "When I used to go out and see Sam in Chambers, she would always compliment me on my makeup. I would always give her whatever make up I had with me, gloss or lipstick. I run a makeup counter in Voisins and showed her how to do her makeup and offered her some winter clothes as well." 

Not knowing where to start to find a wig, Ms Baran turned to the 'Ecycle Jersey' group on Facebook and its 13,000 members. While she originally asked if anyone had a wig they were not using, she was touched to see friends of Sam and fellow islanders offer to donate money for a new one. One gentleman, who has known Sam for a few years, offered to give £75 saying "Sam is a lovely person and deserves it."

Pictured: Sam is known among the locals at Prince's Bar for her singing during the open-mic evenings.

Sam, as well as Ms Baran, were "overwhelmed" by the response to the post. Ms Baran said: "I was overwhelmed with the support. When I posted on Facebook, I didn't know what people were going to say. I am more than happy to help. Everybody deserves to be happy, if we can help someone, we should to the best we can."

Ms Baran has since set up a crowdfunding page to raise money. She wrote: "I feel Sam has chosen me to help achieve this as she knew we would not have disregarded her personal letter, Sam has been a regular at Prince's Bar now every Wednesday for our Open Mic night and (it's) great to see her comfortable and (it) would be a real pleasure for us to see her dream come true."

She has also organised a fundraising event at Prince's Bar which is taking place tonight at 19:00 with live music. "Sam is part of the community at the bar. Everyone knows her. One of the locals already gave me £5 to help buy the wig. We are hoping that lots of people will come and that we will be able to buy a wig." Sam will of course be attending the fundraising event and she might sing a little song for the crowd as she has been known to do at Prince's Bar.

Raising a suitable amount for the wig will only be the first step in making Sam's dream come true. She will also have to pick a style, which is no small matter. Luckily, she will be able to count on Ms Baran's help for a friend's opinion. Ms Baran said: "A lot of people gave advice on where to find wigs and we have been put in touch with someone who makes wigs on the island. We will find one that is exactly like she wants so she can be happy!"