Creating a Barbershop for refugees

Team BarberSociety will be helping the Because We Carry charity to create a Barbershop for refugees on Campus Kara Tepe on the Greek island of Lesvos. It will be a place where men and boys can forget about their daily reality for a while and feel human again. A place where they can relax for a bit and enjoy having a haircut or wet shave. We all know what a good haircut does for our self-esteem and how important it is to socialise with others.

Because We Carry  already made a start with offering haircuts under the name 'Brothers & Beards'. To help them take this to a higher lever and realise a fully-equipped barbershop, we need products, tools and furniture. In addition, we will need barbering instructors on site to train people living on the campus so that they can receive a certificate. This will make it possible for this initiative to carry on operating independently. The skills gained through this training will also be very beneficial to refugees after they leave the campus and begin a new life elsewhere.

In partnership with Because We Carry, we will also endeavour to involve and hire local people on Lesvos whenever possible so that they too can benefit from this initiative. It would be great if a resident of Lesvos could serve as the barbershop’s manager.

Team
We will be in Lesvos from 14 through 18 November 2018. Our group will include three barbers, two of whom are trainers, and a photographer. We will put all our energy into realising this barbershop and training the barbers in association with creative agency ‘Maak’ who involved us in this project and will deal with the creative concept of the barbershop. The online review platform ‘WieWatHaar’ will support us through promotions as well. They will also support Because We Carry by providing tools, products and training for the current beauty salon on the campus.

Long term
Campus Kara Tepe is the shelter on Lesvos where the most vulnerable are housed. Because We Carry will always try to implement successful concepts to other camps to help as much people as possible. That's why we will start in Kara Tepe as a pilot, but we hope to realise other barbershops on other camps in the longer term. 

What we need
Our goal is to ship a container from the Netherlands to Lesbos and furnish it as a fully-equipped barbershop. We consequently need the following:

∙       A lockable container, if possible equipped with solar panels and air-conditioning/heating (this is the most expensive item)
∙       Furniture & barber chairs
∙       Appliances including a hair washing unit, washing machine and tumble dryer
∙       Lighting
∙       Tools
∙       Products
∙       Transportation to Lesvos

For the training:
∙    Hairdresser training heads incl. standard
∙    How-to videos
∙    Training materials
∙    Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish or French translators to translate training materials/how-to videos
∙    Instructors (and a salary for the local manager!)

While everything will be done on a voluntary basis and through sponsoring whenever possible, funds will be needed to organise the training and other activities that cannot be sponsored. This is why it would be wonderful if we could achieve this together.

Give them a ray of hope!
We feel privileged to live in a country without war. The situation of refugees on Lesvos is acute. Thousands of people have been waiting there in camps for a long time in often miserable circumstances. The camps are all overcrowded and full. For example: Campus Moria is equipped to accommodate 2,500 people, while there are currently around 9,000 living on the campus. And  hundreds of refugees continue to enter the island every week. The hopelessness of the stay and the absence of education and work make residents depressed. A barbershop would be a more than a welcome distraction. Being a barber society, we didn’t think twice about helping Because We Carry to create this barbershop and to bring a small ray of hope to the men living in these dire circumstances.

Do you help us to help them?

We would be really grateful if you could help us! Every donation, every gift – no matter how small – is more than welcome!

The more we can bring and arrange ourselves on 14 November, the better. No time to lose!

Please click on the button to make a donation by credit card.

For the Dutch people: If you would like to make a donation using iDeal, please send us a WhatsApp message on +31 624204231 and state the amount in euros so we can send you a Tikkie.

You are naturally also welcome to make your donation via bank transfer:
BarberSociety B.V.
NL70 RABO 0316 9804 39, mentioning “Lesvos”
BIC: RABO NL 2U

100% of your donation will be used for this initiative.

Voor meer verhalen over dit project in het Nederlands, klik  hier.

// SPONSOREN
And then there are our sponsors! Because without them, all of this would not have been possible! This list is being supplemented, but up to now these wonderful people/brands are helping us: 

• 1922 by J.M Keune : Container for the barbershop, travel costs 2 educators, products
• Wahl : Hair clippers, combs, hairdryers
• New York Barbershop : Jackets, capes, pommades
• Barbicide  : Disinfectants
• 1o1BARBERS  : 3 Mobile Barber Stations + 3 barber chairs
• Kapperspaal.nl  : barberpole
• Pivot Point : training heads
• Kyone:  scissors
• Koos van der Beek : shaving brushes and shavettes
• DEPOT the male tools & co. : products