A barber shop in a container at a Nelson Mandela Day event for people living on the street in Cape Town was a brilliant, heartwarming lesson on what can happen when you give people a chance.
Shaun, one of the attendees at the event who ended up spending the day cutting the unruliest of heads of hair, now has a pair of clippers, a baptism of fire as a barber and a dream of a little business.
Shaun came to the container to get a haircut, but soon grabbed a black bin bag, cut a hole in it, whipped this protective ‘cape’ over the head of the next person in the queue and got on with cutting.
When he was offered the clippers as a thank you for the day’s work, he said Yesss! I can do this!
I, too, am a dreamer and am already imagining the chain of pop-up stores that does kerbside cuts, ‘Dignity Barbers’.
The barber shop in a container was just one of the services being offered at the Dignity Day organised by TB HIV Care in association with CCID, Artscape, Radisson and Streetscapes to help people who live on the street.
The event was held in honour of Prisoner #46664, Nelson Mandela. July 18, his birthday, is a day when South Africans traditionally help the less fortunate by doing at least 67 minutes of service (67 was the number of years Nelson Mandela dedicated his life 100% to the service of others).
People who attended the event held at Artscape were able to access health services, and were given a hot meal as well as a few items of clothing and/or a banket each.
Attendance levels provided a lesson in Word of Mouth that would make many a marketer jealous. Around 400 people queued in the rain to enjoy a few comforts and a little care from the angels who work at these various organisations.
Let’s not forget that so many of these people provide care and services to the less fortunate every day, not just when they think Madiba is watching.
The hot meals were provided by the four Radisson Hotels in Cape Town and served up by their fabulous, smiling staff. Talk about hospitality, the crew from Radisson Hotels know their business. The hotels that provided the food (and whose teams served it) were: The Park Inn by Radisson, Cape Town Foreshore; Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, Cape Town; Radisson Red, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town; and Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, Cape Town.
The next time I am choosing a hotel for a holiday or a weekend away, I will remember the superior level of care and respect delivered on the day.