On December 11th, 2019, ladies from the Grace Foundation/Ufulu Groups program in area 38 finished their last day of training in the art of Hair and Makeup. It’s been quite the journey, with the hardships of sickness going around, and a baby born halfway through the program; these ladies did not let anything stop them!
Chatting with them about their time before Ufulu Groups program, they all shared of how they did various businesses that all seemed to fail. Having been through the Ufulu business class, the women shared how they now have insight on what went wrong in the past and are grateful that they have knowledge now on how to do business more effectively in the future.
Speaking of the future, big plans were shared on the last day of class. One of the ladies, Philipina, has plans to start a salon in her home area. “There are no salon’s in my home area. The nearest salon is many kilometers away, therefore, me starting a salon would help the women in my area not to travel long distances just to get their hair or makeup done.” she shared. While Julietta and Salome, the other women in the group also shared their plans; which are not just to have a salon operating in their home areas, but to also boost the small businesses they currently have running with the skills they have gained from the business class.
The future doesn’t seem as bleak anymore because, not only have they been able to dream and envision a better life for themselves and their families, the ladies mentioned how the counseling program has helped them see issues they had normalized when they actually needed to deal with them. They learnt things like grief, learning to take their pain to Jesus, sharing their burdens with trusted friends and best of all they have learnt to appreciate who they are and accept that they are valuable.
The day was certainly filled with all kinds of gratitude, from the students to their teachers who tirelessly, three days a week for five months went in to teach hair, makeup, business and counselling. The instructors were grateful to their students for persevering, willingness to learn, taking up the challenge of change and bettering themselves. Ufulu administration has been more than proud of these women and can’t wait to see what else God has in store for them as they continue learning by interning at various Salons close to them.
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