Every so often, remarkable people cross our paths that change the way we see what’s possible. That inspire us to do more, and more importantly to do better, not just for ourselves but for each other. Today, those people are the women of the salon group at Oruchinga Refugee Settlement.
These ladies don’t have a whole lot of resources behind them. But nevertheless, they are constantly banding together and coming up with ways to learn, grow, and lift each other up.
Jennifer, a refugee from Congo, is the leader of the group. “Most of them here in this group are teenage mothers without any support,” she said. “We formed so that young women have somewhere to go and make themselves better.”
For the past few years, Jennifer has trained generation after generation of girls who learn business and marketable skills in her salon. Then they go out and start their own businesses, or help to mentor the incoming group. It’s a model that’s worked – but they’re limited.
“If we had more we could do more,” said Jennifer.
Right now the salon is simply a gray, mud-walled shelter, without supplies, furniture, or color. So for the next few days, we’re powering a complete renovation, helping the space to look and feel as amazing as these women are.
And what better way to announce that change than with a fresh coat of paint?
We got the community together and with paintbrushes in hand, everybody pitched in to bring the walls to life!
The ladies of the salon chose the colors – orange, green, blue, and red. And one of our local artists in residence – Ben – added some artistic flourishes on the inside to give it some oomph.
“This new look will help attract customers!” said Jennifer. “And it will show everyone that something exciting is going on here. People will come to find out.”
A BIG THANKS to Sarah Butala of Strey Designs for making this change possible!
