Two wonderful weeks spent with the program of Hairdressers Without Borders in Manila in the area called Smokey Mountain, a large rubbish dump in the suburbs of Tondo, with over two million metric tons of waste, with a large squatter community where it is estimated that 30,000 people live in extreme condition and the kids are working hard to make charcoal and to collect stuff to sale on the street.
A wonderful result with all the students that participated with a lot of energy, passion and motivation.
An amazing confirmation on the success of our team of professional trainers: Esther, Peter, Shana and our coordinator Fabio.
A special thanks to our partner of the project (ELA) Empowering Lives Asia, that helped us to manage the program in this extreme location with all the people and to all the sponsors that with their generosity provided products for the training and the gifts for a lot of families in the Smokey Mountain (Stars and Style, Medusa, O’Right and American Crew), without their help it shouldn’t been possible to reach this amazing result.
We want to underline like our mission is not just about the pleasure to offer a new haircut, specially in a place in this condition, but is about pushing, promoting, inspire the young and let them think; give them a new key to open a door that tomorrow could become a new interest and maybe a future job. We believe that education works just next to the passion, like the only powerful instrument to move the people with their own energy and motivation. We have been in Manila with our open heart, with a purpose to understand the culture, listen to the people and their dreams.
A great thanks for the photographer Thomas Tham from “ELA” for the amazing photos.
