A Tsawwassen hair stylist and salon owner is making a global impact on poverty by providing economic opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Stephanie Wright, who grew up in South Delta and started her career in local hair salons, is heading to Southeast Asia with other stylists this week in an effort to restore dignity and hope by teaching the trade of cosmetology to local women. The stylists are teaming up with a local organization to provide basics in hair care and styling.
They will also offer creative and advanced education to allow these women the opportunity to learn practical and self-sustaining business solutions to secure their financial future.
“We are a small group from White Rock who believe that we can help change a few people’s future in a positive way by investing in one person at a time,” said Wright, the owner and creative director of Mystique Hair Design in White Rock. “Imagine feeling worthless and then having the tools and skills to obtain and maintain a job. We believe that our efforts in starting the training process will offer an opportunity to gain employment and business experience.”
Wright said they are partnering with a restoration program that is already providing care and education to those who have been affected by poverty, abuse and sexual exploitation.
“Education is one of the most important assets we can offer to those who are at risk of exploitation or have been affected by trauma,” she said. “To assist the restoration program, we head to Southeast Asia on March 15and will conduct eight days of training. We believe we can restore hope by teaching a trade and giving these women hope for a brighter future.”
She said they are excited to take their efforts globally.
“The knowledge of such injustice is heartbreaking and atrocious,” she added. “As a local business we have been involved for more than 12 years in many ‘give back to the community’ projects and we know we can make a difference internationally. Once we gained the knowledge about how prevalent the issues of poverty, abuse and heartbreaking sexual exploitation actually are on our globe, we felt we needed to do something positive." After last year’s exploratory trip, stylists helped establish a training centre and have remained in constant contact with their teams on the ground.
“The organization the Mystique stylists will be working with is focused on the rehabilitation and aftercare of children rescued from human trafficking,” Wright said. “This team risk their lives to go into dangerous circumstances to retrieve children from abuse. Their teams are known internationally and respected greatly.”
It's an opportunity nearly 20 years in the making, Wright said.
“It will be one of the first trips I have ever been on - or been asked to be a part of - that is using my hair talents, leadership skills, business knowledge and desire for justice, all at once,” she said.
