Overview

Braids for Change — using the art of braiding to fund and empower women and girls in Sub Saharan Africa and of Sub-Saharan backgrounds.

Ever heard of donor fatigue?

It’s when we become exhausted or even apathetic to requests for donations or support, even if we have previously found the cause worthwhile.

Right now, donor fatigue is even more prevalent as traditional donor countries face higher costs of living and economic stress.

For women and families in Sub Saharan Africa, this is not good news.

They are already far down the list of recipients of foreign aid (after situations deemed more urgent and desperate like famine and drought) and yet, the flourishing of women underpins the flourishing of communities and economies.

Without traditional forms of donations and support, finding new ways of funding and empowering women and girls in Sub Saharan Africa and of Sub-Saharan backgrounds is crucial.

Braids for Change: women empowerment through self-expression and job creation

Our innovative scheme and not-for-profit organisation, Braids for Change, meets a supply-side gap in the market, provides employment opportunities and contributes to the education and training of women and girls in Sub Saharan Africa.

Let them have braids

In Australia and other Western countries, most hair salons frequented by non-Africans do not offer African braiding services. The salons that do offer hair braiding services are in areas with a high density of migrant population from Sub Saharan Africa and do not advertise.

So, while there are many people who want to try hair braids, they are unable to due to the lack of services and lack of education about the process.

Concurrent to the unmet demand for hair braiding services, there are also many African women and girls in Australia who are competent at the skill of braiding but do not have the opportunity to earn money from it.

Braids for Change offers a solution to both through:

1. Pre-selling hair braiding vouchers to the public. Braids for Change makes hair braiding accessible to everyone, regardless of age, gender and ethnicity. We extend the opportunity to try hair braids as a form of self-expression and a way to create a unique self-identity. Our vouchers will be available in amounts from $10 to $100. There is a minimum spend of $25 per service. Vouchers can be redeemed at participating salons or at the client’s location for a minimum spend of $100 and up to 20 individuals; perfect for school events, birthday parties and private functions.
2. Increasing the number of salons that offer braiding services. Salons that already offer braiding services will be engaged to participate in Braids for Change, receiving 60% of the total value of vouchers they present. Salons that don’t offer braiding services will be approached to either rent out space to Braids for Change or hire Braids for Change staff; they will receive between 20-80% of the total value of vouchers they present.
3. Training and employing of women and girls from the local community or from a sub-Saharan background. Braiders will be paid 50% of the total value of vouchers they present. Braiders will also be supplied hair braiding accessories like coloured hair extensions and hair beads on a prepaid basis or on credit; this is so Braids for Change can act as a one-stop service for anything relating to braids, creating a better customer experience and more streams of income for braiders.

Uplifting women and girls in Sub Saharan Africa

And what about the aforementioned education and training of women and girls in Sub Saharan Africa?

While 50% of revenue generated will go to remunerating the hair braiders, the remaining 50% will be used for operating costs like executive wages and initiatives like providing small business loans to women in Sub Saharan Africa and supporting other charitable organisations committed to educating and elevating women and girls in those countries.

Born from a long-held passion for improving public health in Africa

Braids for Change was created by me, Adama Kamara. I was born in West Africa and showed an interest in natural sciences from a young age. During my studies in Pure and Applied Sciences, I was offered a scholarship to study medicine in China. There, I specialised in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, believing them to be beneficial to people who may not have access to hospitals or western medicines.

After those studies, I migrated to Australia for my postgraduate studies in Public Health at Queensland University of Technology. Whilst studying public health in Australia, I came to realise that over 1.4 million women and children die each year in Africa from inhaling smoke from firewood used for cooking. I wanted to help solve this problem and created an eco-friendly stove that uses biodiesel for cleaner cooking. The stove can be made with multiple materials including scrap metal, clay and bricks. Fueled by vegetable oil or a crude biodiesel, it provides 6 hours of burning time which is enough to prepare 3 meals a day!

I had issues funding this solution however as the IMF and other large donors typically support larger projects on a national scale. Even if I can’t make the stove accessible in Sub Saharan Africa, I hope to at least make the knowledge accessible so people can make their own.

This stove is just one example of my passion for improving the living standards and health of people from Africa through innovative solutions. Another is Braids for Change and I would love your support in backing this project.

Why we are crowdfunding

We are raising $80,000 in total.

$10,000 will go towards designing the website and online marketplace. The online marketplace will also act as a community platform that links out to local hair braiders and community events where hair braiding services are offered. Braids for Change will therefore act as a broker in some cases and charge a specified commission from each booking through hair braiding voucher sale. Part of this $10,000 will also contribute to setting up the legal structure of Braids for Change.

We will use the rest of the funding to rent space for stalls or kiosks in major shopping centres in the below cities:

– Brisbane

– Gold Coast

– Sydney

– Melbourne

– Perth

– Adelaide

– Canberra

These spaces will give people access to the hair braiding as well as promote Braids for Change.

Call-to-action

Back Braids for Change today and help support our mission to empower girls and women in and from Sub Saharan Africa through creating employment opportunities!

Your pledge will not only make a difference in the lives of these girls and women, but also allow you to experience the beauty of African culture.

Join us in this effort to make a positive impact and embrace the spirit of giving back.

We would greatly appreciate a monetary pledge from you to propel Braids for Change forwards. We understand, though, that not everyone is in a position to give money and so, you can also support us by sharing our project on your social media channels and with your friends!
If you do want to make a monetary contribution, we are offering some amazing rewards to thank you for supporting Braids for Change!

For all the rewards, we can also host braiding parties for large groups of backers from the same location! Check them out now on the Reward Page –>

(Backers will receive QR-coded receipts which they can present to Braids for Change kiosks to redeem braiding services. Kiosks will be available after 10 July 2023 should our campaign be fully funded.)