Introducing Zziwa Hair Academy (ZHA)

Today I have some important news to share about a project we are rolling out at Zziwa Hair Studio.

We’re launching a hair academy under which we will be training various skills in the field of cosmetology, among them; hairdressing, barbering, makeup, saloon management, to mention a few.

The academy will be called, Zziwa Hair Academy (ZHA).

I cannot say how pleased I am about this. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to the entire team. We’ve been preparing for some time, equipping our saloon with all the necessary requirements to gets us going, getting all the paperwork together and those long meetings.

Yet we will be charging a small fee to enrol for our programs, our core objective is not to make money. We want to pass on our skills to as many people as we can. Millions have studied but they cannot find jobs. Others have no papers, they cannot find any place, a workplace to accommodate them. Others have jobs but they are not happy where they are.

And as such, the community we live in is not as comfortable as we’d all have wished. Zziwa Hair Academy is, therefore, a step we are taking to change things. It is our contribution towards improving lives.

I personally believe that everyone needs at least one or two hands-on skills because when you have a skill, nothing can stop you from achieving success. When you have a skill, the world is in your hands. And most importantly, you can have all the freedom in it.

Let me share briefly of how far we have travelled to start the Academy;

Six years ago, during my university days, I enrolled for a short course at Tina Beauty School in Wandegeya. At Makerere, I was pursuing a degree in computer science, not because I wanted, but to please my mother whereas, at Tina, I was pursuing my dream of becoming a stylist and barber. After my graduation at MAK, I did not knock at any C.E.O’s door in search of a job. What I did, I opened a low-key unisex saloon in Gayaza. Business picked in a short time. I started to earn pretty good money while my colleagues were roaming the offices around town to drop their resumes. Business was fair, but one day I decided I wanted bigger things so I flew out of the country and went to look for greener pastures in China. I landed in Guangzhou, where I knew no one. I slept in a hotel the first day. The next day I ran out of money. The hotel threw me out. That was a horrible thing to happen to me in a foreign land where I could not call mummy for a bailout, but it came with its blessings.

While I was wandering around the streets looking for a place to shelter, I met two ladies having a conversation in luganda. It turned out they were from Uganda. It also turned out they were not just having a conversation, they were standing by the street side to trade in sexual commerce. I told them about my situation and they were kind to house me in a brothel. Few days on, I unleashed my hairdressing talent. I plaited one lady’s hair, then another, then another. The ladies were all amazed by my skills, and for me, it made me feel purposeful. It also gave me security. For as long as I could plait hair, I was going to get free accommodation. I was going to survive.

A year later, I left Guangzhou for China’s capital, Beijing, where I found a job in a saloon that was owned by a Ugandan, later leading me to another opportunity to work in one of Beijing’s top saloons, Leaders Saloon.

In 2015, I flew back home and started Zziwa Hair Studio. Here we are now, 2017, and we are launching the Academy.

My story is to teach a few lessons; with a skill you can go anywhere in the world and survive. A skill is the most useful asset you can ever have. We’re investing in skills because we do not want our women to leave this country to go and do prostitution somewhere. We want to reduce unemployment. We want to improve life in our community. It is our responsibility. Those are our objectives.

Classes will kick off in January next year, but we are calling upon all those interested in cosmetology to pick admission forms at the Studio in Kisementi, Kryshna Mart, level 3, starting now. Our number is, 0200923956 so feel free to call us for inquiries.

Our challenge is that we have small space, and we will only admit 10 students. We hope to secure a bigger environment for the Academy in the future to accommodate as many as a million students.

A new journey has started. Ride with us.