UPungon, the largest of the 13 communes of Abidzhan with a population of 1.5 million, is known for its entrepreneurial sand, playful nightlife and, in pop culture, as a place of birth The most popular comic character in francoid Africa, aya de JopugonField
Under the bustle, he is also the house for another tabolate pioneer: 49-year-old Dedoa Katherine Tano, a hairdresser who spent two decades, offering tips on mental health or simply listening calmly when she cuts the hair of her customers.
The school retreat that the cashier experienced as a bank cashier before becoming a hairdresser, Tano's stability was recently useful when he talked with a teenager, worrying about collecting their exams. “I told her:“ I don’t think negatively, ”Tano said. “Even if you fail, how can you think that you have failed in life?”
Mental health remains a taboo in most parts of Africa, although in accordance with the World Health Organization, more than 116 million people have mental health problems. Therapy in a critically shortage, with 1.4 Mental health protection workers for every 100,000 people.
In black communities, hairdressers have become a safe space, especially in communities with small access or lack of access to psychiatric medical care or in general.
Bluemind Foundation, non -profit organization working through Cameroon, Cat -kot And that, connected to the relationship of the hairdresser-client through his initiative Heal-Hair. According to its founder, Marie-Alix de Putter, over the past two years, more than 400 hairdressers, including Tano, have been trained to act as therapeutic respondents or “mental health ambassadors”, reaching more than 100,000 women. By 2030, De Patter hopes to cover more than 1000 hairdressers in 20 countries.
'Trust is already there'
It began with a love story that has become tragic. In 2012, while the patterns were on a trip to her native CameroonHer husband was killed. She became a widow when she was for four months of pregnancy. The case remains unresolved.
“I spent my first night like a widow with a hairdresser,” she said. “She was the one that I trusted the most that night, because you are simply surrounded by people, and you do not know who could do this … Therefore, we had this relationship where she came and made my hair every week [initially] at home and listen. “
Inspired by its personal history, the Fund conducted a study by 2021 in seven franco -speaking countries: 77 % of respondents admitted that they trusted their hairdressers, and more than 90 % of the hairdressers said that their customers were looking for their lawyer.
“We have just tied the trust that women already give their hairdressers with tools,” she said. The first training took place in April 2022.
The program is structured around a free, intensive three -day training with psychiatrists and mental health experts who teach women an active hearing, sex -based violence and signs of depression, as well as psychology theories. After that, they are evaluated until the certificate is obtained.
“The training went very well … I got my diploma and this,” said another hairdresser, Teresa Guu, when she reached for a psychology textbook on a shelf in her salon in the area of SOBO's working class.
Within six months, interns are supported through peer groups and access to the psychological referral system. When the client shares deeper problems, hairdressers direct their customers to professional psychologists or in cases of domestic violence to the police. Many are still doomed to the idea that they refer to financial and social expenses for this in a conservative region, where every third person lives in extreme poverty.
Initially, the financing of the program was mainly from the savings of De Putter, but private donors and agencies, such as France, innovative innovative development funds now. Nevertheless, the resources remain small for the volume of work facing a small team of 17 paid employees and about 100 volunteers.
Their work gave stories of joy and healing: in TogoOne trainee hired someone who was in a psychiatric hospital, offering social rehabilitation.
“Often, when you were sick and were hospitalized, people say that you are crazy,” said de Patter. “So, if you have a job and someone, who accepts you to teach you, you get out of the taboo.”
One hairdresser left her house because she has become a victim of violence, but now helps people. In some communities, hairdressers say that several men also began to apply for advice.
Among the hairdressers there is a general sense of satisfaction from their appearance as a form of emotional support in their communities. “[When] People come to explain their problems for me, this is also pride, because I know that I am for someone's ear, ”said Heu. “I tell myself that we all need someone.”
“For many of these women, this is their first recognition as a leader in their community and a defender,” said de Potter. “These women say to us:“ Before I just made hair, now I am doing healing. ”
