Biography

My name is Ali Hussein, I'm a Congolese by nationality, and I'm 30 years old. I was born in Tanzania because my family fled violence in DRCongo to Tanzania. My daddy died when I was 15 years old, and my mother got married to another man. My mother's husband didn't want me, and I was the only son to my mum. He refused to pay for my school fees.

So my mother sent me to her sister in Burundi, which is where I met a certain brother who taught me hairdressing. After 2 years I got the skill and I got employed at a salon. In 2007 I met a Ugandan lady. She told me that she had a relative that runs a salon in Kampala and suggested that I go with her to Uganda. I decided to go to Uganda. I spent 5 years in Uganda.

When I heard news that my mother was seriously sick, I decided to go back to Tanzania. When I reached Tanzania, I found my mother in a very critical condition. She was seriously sick, and after 6 months she passed away. That year was the worst year in my life. I had no one to support me. The little that my mother left me, her husband did not want me to have it. He planned to kill me, so I had to flee Tanzania to Malawi.

When I reached Dzaleka, my life was very difficult. I decided to go to Mozambique. There I got a job. After three years of hard work, I earned money. I bought equipment. I returned to Dzaleka. In 2017 I opened a salon. Since I started this business, my life has improved. I teach a lot of youths the skill in the camp. For me, it's a privilege, but lack of enough material is a big challenge. Also, a lot of people have opened salons in Dzaleka, so I no longer have as many customers as I used to have. Secondly, lack of training and trainers, it's also a big challenge for me. I'm asking for support in order to expand the salon and open a big space where people will learn hairdressing and how to work too.