06 Feb 2017

Young people in Nata and Gweta have been encouraged to use their skills and talents to create employment for others.

This was said by a 36 year-old Ms Onkemetse Tsapo from Gweta who owns a hairdressing business in Nata. She has employed two young men in the hair cutting section on her business.

“I realised that hairdressing is my vision when I was doing standard four  in Letlhakane when my neighbour used to call me asking me gore ke mo gotlhe sekorofole ( scrub her hair). That is when I fell in love with hairdressing,” she told BOPA in an interview recently.

After completing her Form two in 1992, she said she continued doing hair from home as she already had created a customer base while she was still at junior secondary school level. She said she worked in some salons to gain experience but she realised that she always had a longer queue of customers than other hairdressers.

She said she then did a six months hairdressing course in 1998 in Francistown to gain more skills.

“I continued hairdressing at home again after completion of the short course as jobs are scarce. But with the earnings from the hairdressing I was doing at home, in 2015 I started my own salon,” she said.

Ms Tsapo said she wanted to change her life and also help some other youths by offering them jobs so they too could use their skills to survive.

She said she does different hairdressing styles like cornrow, carrot, French singles, retouching and many other styles.

She said the only challenge she comes across is that of fewer customers seeking her services when it is raining because customers do not move around to do their hair. She said she assists her loyal customers on credit but some take a long time to pay, something which affects the business’ cash flow.

She encouraged the youth to stand up for themselves, adding being self-employed is a great thing that encourages hardwork, which is more profitable.

“I never gave up in life because I believe that the day I give up is the day customers will come,” she said. ENDS