Tanzania Hairdressing Program
The charitable work of Nafasi Opportunity Society started in Tanzania. Our organization fortunately was able to establish a valued and productive partnership with the Open University of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam to create a unique learning program of vocational entrepreneurship learning. This program was targeted for underprivileged women in Tanzania and would provide them with the knowledge and skills to be financially self-sufficient.
This program was designed after research conducted in 2014 that indicated the participation rate of Tanzanian women in formal and informal education was 1/4 that of men. It also showed that hairstyling and beauty therapy was a highly coveted skill. We then designed our unique entrepreneurial hairstyling curriculum in consultation and cooperation with our partners, the Open University of Tanzania along with the Vocational Education and Training Authority of Tanzania.
This 9 month program ran three times from 2014 to 2020. It consists of 12 modules: Basics of Hair Dressing, Skin Care Skills, Nail Care Skills, Introduction to General Science for Hair & Beauty, Professional Image in Hair & Beauty, Basic Business Communications Skills, Introduction to Body Massage Techniques, Basics of Hygiene & Sanitation, Elementary Business Management, Introduction to cultural cross-cutting Issues, application of ICT in Salon Management and a Field Attachment for practical learning and experience. Our graduates now work within the Hairstyling, Cosmetic, Beauty Therapy or related industries in Tanzania. Some of our graduates used this learning as a stepping stone to further their education leading to other opportunities.