Maria Zefanias Gulele's Story Part 2
Maria, a victim of a landmine, worked in front of her house in the sand, where she sat on a small chair with her clients in front of her on a grass mat. Her customers sat for hours in summer temperatures of between 35- 45 °C (sand temperature of 40-50 °C) to have their hair braided and styled. During the torrential rainy season, Maria could not attend to her customers in her open-air salon. Without customers, she had no income.
In 2005 the leader of a South African project assisting landmine victims with prosthetic limbs and humanitarian aid enquired about landmine victims who could not reach the rehabilitation centre in Vilanculos. He was told about Maria and decided to visit her. After travelling along the rough, sandy roads which are typical of the area, he found her sitting outside her hut, busy braiding a client’s hair. After seeing the conditions in which she worked, and having witnessed her irrepressible energy, he decided to build her a truly African hair salon: a spacious oval structure with cement floor, pole-framed walls, and thatched roof. Maria and her clients were now more comfortable -- shaded from the harsh African sun in the extreme summer heat and sheltered from the rain.
Since then, Maria’s business has expanded; her income has increased; she has started to teach others the art and craft of hairdressing; and she is now in a position to employ the students she has trained.