GIRLS aged four to six at the St. Ann’s Orphanage and Joshua House last Saturday and Sunday received a number of haircare products and accessories following a back-to-school charity drive from Curl Fete Guyana.

The Curl Fete Natural Hair and Beauty Expo team, with the support of various businesses and individuals, spent time with the girls who had their hair braided, styled school-appropriately and were given supplies to maintain these styles.
Though not the typical back-to-school drive, Co-Founder of Curl Fete and Forensic Analyst, Tamika Henry, said that the idea came about when a societal need was highlighted to the team by a friend.

“A friend of ours contacted us and said they went to a church service where they saw a couple of girls from an orphanage and their hair seemed unkempt. They asked us if we could step in and do something,” Henry related, pointing out that “We wanted to act almost immediately.”

Shortly after, the team put together a campaign to receive donations from the community, of items such as shampoo, conditioner, vaseline, moisturisers, combs, brushes, ribbons, bows and other hair products necessary for proper hair care.
Henry noted that although some may see the provision of hair products and accessories to the less-fortunate to be minor, promoting pride in self-appearance is especially important for the development of self-confidence in young girls.

“When it comes to young women that are in a less than ideal situations, girls that are less fortunate, girls that have been displaced from their homes, a lot of persons focus on what they would term as their necessities: food, clothing, educational supplies,” Henry pointed out.
She then explained: “Those things are necessary and, obviously, these things need to be taken care of at first. But at a very young age, young women struggle with confidence issues, and as much as you want to say life is not about how you look, it does affect your confidence and your self-esteem.”

Thus, the charity drive is the first, but will not be the last for 2018 as the group continues to use hair as a means to start a conversation about larger themes of women empowerment and building confidence.

Curl Fete, previously known as ‘Curl Fest,’ was birthed in 2016 in the minds of co-owner and proprietor of KoKo, Denisha Victor and Henry.
To date, the annual natural hair expo is utilised to showcase the best hair products and tips on how to care for hair, while promoting the embrace of different types of hair textures.
Henry said that for a long time, people would only see the negativity in curly or kinky hair, therefore, to empower women and girls to have natural hair and feel confident, the festival was started in Guyana.

As the organisation grew, it expanded to include a beauty and health interest, being hosted at the Promenade Gardens for the last three years, featuring accessories, hair products and live discussions during the all-day family event.
Curl Fete will be hosted once again this year, with the organisers focusing on the inclusion of corporate Guyana, as the event continues to provide a platform for young entrepreneurs to showcase and market their local businesses.