Girls learn Beauty skills at Brave Girl Camp

...... Empowers young girls through skills at UWC Waterford Kamhlaba camp

 

  When a young girl learns how to braid hair, she may be learning much more than a hairstyle. She is learning a skill she can carry with her, a skill that can eventually earn her money, support her family and perhaps even become the beginning of her own small business.

That was the thinking behind a hands-on session led by Buhle Bakho Tandla Tetfu Empowerment at the Brave Girl Camp at UWC Waterford Kamhlaba, where young girls were introduced to braiding as a practical beauty and vocational skill.

Led by founder Nombuso Dlamini, the session brought together beauty, learning and conversations about what is possible when young women are given skills they can actually use.

On campus, Dlamini worked closely with the campers, guiding them through the basics of clean parting, sectioning and cornrow techniques. What could easily have been an ordinary beauty lesson became something more personal. The girls were learning by doing, asking questions, making mistakes, trying again and gradually getting the hang of it.

 There was concentration, laughter and the kind of quiet satisfaction that comes when someone finally gets their hands to do what their eyes have been watching. For Dlamini, that is precisely the point.

“This was yet another great experience teaching and getting to know different girls hit by different circumstances in life. Every girl has a story. If we can give her a skill that restores her confidence and can one day put money in her hands, then we have given her a choice about her future,” she said. 

That idea of choice sits at the centre of Buhle Bakho Tandla Tetfu Empowerment's work. The organisation is now working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) on a wider programme aimed at taking vocational beauty skills training to vulnerable communities across Eswatini.

Instead of  limiting the programme to the country's major towns, the initiative plans to reach young women and girls in some of the most vulnerable tinkhundla, particularly those who have limited access to education, employment and other economic opportunities. The goal is to  give them practical skills that can be turned into income.

For many young women, beauty is already part of everyday life. Hair, nails and makeup are familiar spaces, particularly within communities where salon services and beauty businesses are in constant demand. Formalising those skills through training can turn something that is often seen as a personal interest into a possible livelihood.

 “Our goal is to move beyond Mbabane and Manzini and go where the need is greatest.We want to reach the girl in the rural tinkhundla who thinks her circumstances have decided her future. We want to show her that her hands can build a business,” Dlamini said. 

The Waterford session also fitted naturally into the ethos of the Brave Girl Camp, a flagship empowerment initiative hosted by UWC Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa.

The camp provides girls with a space away from the usual pressures of everyday life, allowing them to talk openly about their goals, health, confidence, leadership and the challenges they face in their communities.

It is not simply about telling girls to dream bigger. The camp creates room for them to think about what those dreams could look like in practical terms. And sometimes, that starts with something as straightforward as learning how to braid.

For the girls who took part, the session offered an opportunity to learn a skill that does not require a corporate office, a formal workplace or expensive equipment to begin exploring. With training, practice and the right tools, beauty skills can become a service offered from home, in a salon or within a community. That is also why Buhle Bakho is looking beyond the training itself.

While the organisation prepares to expand the programme, it is seeking support from the private sector, development partners and members of the public to provide learning materials for the girls.

 

The list is practical as it includes mannequin heads, combs, braiding hair, gels, sprays, as well as starter kits for makeup and nails. These may seem like small items, but for someone learning a new skill, having the right tools can make the difference between simply attending a training session and continuing to practise afterwards.

“Every kit we give is a small business in a bag. You can give a girl the tools to start earning. That is how we turn skills into livelihoods,” Dlamini said. 

There is also something important about putting the tools directly into the hands of the girls. A lesson can end when the trainer leaves. A mannequin head, comb, hair and styling products can go home with a learner and become part of continued practice. A skill can improve over time. A hobby can become a service. A service can become an income. For Buhle Bakho, that is where empowerment becomes tangible.

The organisation's partnership with the DPM's Office signals an ambition to take that approach further, reaching girls beyond the country's urban centres and into communities where opportunities can be harder to find.

The Brave Girl Camp provided one setting for that vision to take shape, but the larger programme hopes to make these opportunities available to many more young women across Eswatini.

At the heart of it is a message that is easy to understand: circumstances may shape where a girl starts, but they do not necessarily have to determine where she ends up.

Sometimes empowerment comes through big conversations about leadership and education. Sometimes it looks like a girl sitting beside another girl, carefully holding a comb, learning how to create a neat parting for the first time.

 

 

Buhle Bakho Tandla Tetfu Empowerment is inviting organisations, businesses and individuals interested in supporting the programme to come on board through sponsorships and partnerships.

Support is currently needed for training materials, including mannequin heads, combs, braiding hair, gels, sprays and makeup and nail starter kits.

For sponsorship and partnership enquiries, Buhle Bakho Tandla Tetfu Empowerment can be reached through the DPM's Office or directly through founder Nombuso Dlamini on 78461354 or 79884379.