Volunteering in Manila, Philippines
What is Hair Aid?
Hair Aid Inc, is an Australian based not for profit organization that sends teams of volunteer hairdressers to slum and street communities around the world to teach those in critical circumstances hair cutting skills. Hair Aid works with the poorest community members, those rescued from sex trafficking, drugs and mafia hands, and we teach them hair cutting skills so they can earn money (without fear) to feed, clothe and house themselves and their family.
Podcasts Talking about Hair Aid
My Latest Project Jan 2023 - Daily Photo Blog
Hair Aid Day 1 - long travel day from southern Thailand, layover in Bangkok, delayed flight to Manila, but we made it to the Philippines!!
Met up with our favourite Australian Krystal! We volunteered with her on our first Hair Aid project in Jan 2020 and I am so stoked she’s here again. (She’s pretty cool )
Her flight landed at the same time(ish) as ours however we didn’t realize it was different terminals. No big deal, just transfer terminals! Welll…. It’s a 15 min drive with no shuttles
It all got sorted and we got checked into our hotels, grabbed some takeout Jollibees, reminisced and got a game plan together for the next couple days. The rest of the team arrives tomorrow from all around the world (but mainly Australia )
It’s extremely humid here right now and Allan has lost full control of his hair
Hair Aid Day 2 - Today was a day of preparation for the upcoming week of training.
We went to the grocery story and got snacks/food for the week and got our laundry washed ($4 for almost all mine and Allan’s clothes, washed/dried/folded)
Other volunteers started arriving from Australia, USA and U.K and we put together the kits and tools we will use for the training program.
At the end of the week, when the trainees have successfully completed the program, they are gifted with a “business in a bag” - a pair of scissors, four clips and a comb.
With this, and their new knowledge of basic hair cutting skills, they are now able to earn money and support themselves and their family.
Hair Aid Day 3 - Community cuts day! We packed up a large tool kit and headed to NIA ROAD, one of Hair Aid’s longest running locations with the most critical poverty.
We spent the morning working alongside the Manila local volunteer team - former Hair Aid trainees who have continued on cutting hair and help us with training and translations during future projects
Our job here was to be of service not teaching but providing free haircuts to the community. Our salon was the side of the road, cutting on plastic chairs with a random boom box playing 90s karaoke hits.
Together we cut over 100 men, women and children’s hair!
In the late afternoon as a team we met with 8 government officials to discuss the details of our locations and future plans. We really saw the timeline of our efforts and just how much impact we are making in the Philippines
Hair Aid Day 4 - First full day of training!!
I’m so pleased to be back at Tahanan, the drug rehabilitation centre that I taught at with Hair Aid in Jan 2020.
My partner Nicole and I are training 20+ residents in basic hair cutting skills so when they leave, they have skills to earn and income and change the trajectory of their lives.
Today we taught how to drape, hold our scissors and combs, how to section the hair and how to do a straight one length haircut.
By the end of the day everyone had done at least 1 haircut on a live model! Something at home would take at least 3 weeks of hair school training, and our 20+ trainees rocked it in 6 hours, some who spoke no english!
Hair Aid Day 5 - Second day of training!
Today our trainees cut a second straight, one length haircut. Nicole and I were amazed at how much they improved overnight!
We aren’t sure if they were practicing on each other in the evening, or just needed a sleep to process and integrate so much information, but they were fantastic!
In the afternoon they cut a basic layered haircut and ended the day with two demos - a diagonal forward (like curtain bangs) and a diagonal back (like a long angled bob)
In the evening all the volunteers did a cooking class together and learned a ton of traditional Filipino food !
Hair Aid Day 6 - Today we pivoted and started teaching short haircuts, as we had an abundance of male models.
In preparation of the upcoming Hair Aid cutting course, all residents of the drug rehabilitation program haven’t had haircuts since the beginning of November!
We are working with donated scissors, all of which have been sitting in storage since Jan 2020
The scissors needed oiling and tightening so I devised a “fork method” of adjusting the scissors and then testing each pair on a mannequin head while my partner Nicole demo’d the next haircut.
It’s amazing to see the progress and learning of our trainees over such a short amount of time. When the motivation of learning a skill is quite literally survival and putting food of the table of your families, you wouldn’t believe what people are capable of!
(Yes, I’m teaching on a basketball court)
Hair Aid Day 7 - Today we taught our trainees scissor over comb, to do “Barber cuts”.
Since clippers are expensive and require access to electricity, we teach techniques that can be achieved with the kits all our graduates receive - a pair of scissors, four clips and a comb!
By the end of the day they had done 3 full haircuts on live models and blew us away with the crisp fades they created!
Tahanan has their own photographer documenting the project, but due to the privacy of the residents we aren’t able to take pictures. Hopefully we will get access once faces are blurred and I can share!
In the evening we went for Korean BBQ and entertained the whole restaurant by turning it into a karaoke bar! We also got matching tee shirts from Jessica who had them created as part of her fundraising efforts to pay for her Hair Aid trip
“The Journey Begins With a Single Step”
Hair Aid Day 8 - Graduation day!! The 5 days of hair cutting training is complete - I’m so proud that all 21 of the trainees at our location completed the program. (There was 4 locations total this time with 100+ graduates)
What is so amazing is Hair Aid has been in Manila, Philippines for 11 years and is recognized and respected in the community. A graduation certificate can get them jobs in salons so it’s important they are proficient when they finish. Graduation isn’t a given and certificates aren’t just handed out like candy. Each trainee learned 5 basic haircuts and did over 10+ live models.
Nothing can match the feeling of how proud I am of how hard everyone, trainees - volunteers - staff - government officials - have worked to bring this whole project together.
To be able to teach someone in 5 days a skill that will change their lives - literally provide them a path out of poverty and opportunity to earn an income to support themselves. It’s a feeling I can’t put into words.
Hair Aid Day 9 - Government recognition! The entire Hair Aid team of local and international volunteers were invited to the office of the vice mayor. (Big deal!)
While there, an MOU (memorandum of understanding) was signed which validates and empowers Hair Aid to continue and expand its impact in the community.
Each of us was presented with a formal certificate of appreciation for our volunteer efforts. Allan worked closely with the government over the week working on 3 separate community garden projects, so they all knew his “asawa” (wife/partner) was also volunteering with Hair Aid.
Which lead to us getting our certificates together and having the whole government offices wish us prayers and blessings on a future marriage
Of course, the ONE TIME!! Allan looks nice in a picture I’m blinking
Hair Aid Jan 2023 - Finished! My second (but not last!) Hair Aid project is complete!
I’m exhausted, both mentally and physically, and SO thankful to have been a part of this amazing team of international and local volunteers.
The local volunteers are made up of previous Hair Aid trainees who have not only continued to cut hair after graduating but also return to help us out on location.
Our international volunteers came from around the world - this time from Australia, U. K, U.S.A and of course Canada
If you are a hairdresser reading this, know that YES you should definitely volunteer on a project. It’s hard to explain how phenomenal an experience is, all I can say is DO IT!
Hair Aid operates projects 10+ times a year in Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and soon Guatemala
If you have any questions, check out hairaid.org.au or email me
Podcasts Talking about Hair Aid