A calendar that celebrates life

Luke Deed, fought anaplastic ependymoma to the end... a warrior in a child's body.

Each year, AstraZeneca, a leading international pharmaceutical company, creates and sponsors the Moments in Time calendar project, and 2009 is no exception. But this is no ordinary calendar, because it contains the stories of hope, fearlessness and triumph of 13 ordinary individuals who have achieved the extraordinary.

At first glance, the only thing they seem to have in common is their disease, but on closer inspection, looking at their smiles, their confident poses and indeed their very stories, you will see something significantly unifying.

The pictures were taken by some of South Africa's finest photographers, Jeanne-Claire Bischoff, Gerda Genis and Merwelene van der Merwe, who have all expertly captured the spirit of each person in their photos.

Each emotive photo has captured this “now”, by freezing 13 precise moments in time that can never be relived, or repeated. For those who were daring enough to tell their stories and open themselves up to the lens, they have been immortalised in the pages of this calendar, leaving behind a legacy and a record of their very existence.

Leaving a legacy behind is the other thematic which underpins this year's calendar. Little Luke Deeb (July 2009), all of two-and-a-half-years old, lost his brave battle with cancer and passed away; he left a small footprint, but few will fill his shoes.

There is a hope that those who buy the 2009 calendar will be taken on a daily spiritual journey as they read the words of strength and gaze into the eyes of bravery personified.

A wide variety of other products - diaries, T-shirts, the DVD of the song and launch video - are available as well and it is hoped that their combined sales will only further the cause and financially benefit cancer patients the country over.

Accompanying this year's calendar is also a recently shot documentary featuring all 13 of the 2009 patients.

For AstraZeneca, this project is not just an exercise in corporate responsibility (CR), but rather it has become a personal project, very close to the company's heart. Project director, poet and composer, Prof Matthias Haus, has literally put his heart into the project by writing the short, yet full and extremely profound prose that add to the impact of each picture. He says, “The words had to express the message of hope, meaning and joy in our lives.”

Patients included in the calendar were all originally put forward by their respective oncologists and as with all the years that have gone before it, the creative team completed the final selection, always ensuring that the chosen candidates were a true reflection of our diverse and colourful nation.

For more information, visit: http://www.momentsintime.co.za/