CBD pastor grooms the homeless in Kempton Park
“I’ve always been around hair. I’ve always loved hair,” he said.
Hairstylist and pastor Landry Kawa was born and raised in Kinshasa, the capital city of the DRC. He has resided in Kempton Park CBD for years, and has always made a point to contribute to his community.
Years ago, Kawa was told by a certain pastor that he had a gift that would bless individuals across the world. Kawa thought that the gift was styling people’s hair, or maintaining or changing their images, but his mentor told him that God had more in store for him.
“My motivation is a passion for people. I believe that being a pastor is my biggest calling in life and I intend to pursue it in order to fulfil God’s will. I am also confident that God has allowed me to be a hairstylist too.
“Serving God and people makes me feel alive. The joy of the Lord is my strength, when people smile, something is done,” said Kawa.
The 43-year-old was ready and willing to take his cross in 2016 and follow the Lord in daily faithfulness and service, despite his profession or career choice. Besides the calling to teach the Gospel of Christ, the self-proclaimed hair guru runs a beauty salon.
“I’ve always been around hair. I’ve always loved hair,” he said.
He has known some of his clients for so long that he doesn’t even use that word when he talks about them. He calls them friends. “I just love being able to offer my skills to people, not everyone can do it and I think it’s a great way of giving back.
“That was always my prayer, that I would always give back through my business. It’s a blessing for the people in the community to support my ministry and business,” said Kawa.
“The starting point of being of service is to realise that one has things to contribute and they should contribute them to the greater good.”
One of the ways Kawa and his wife, Jolie, give back to the community, is touching the lives of the increasing number of homeless people in the Kempton Park area through grooming.
The couple provides free grooming services to the homeless, people who live in shelters, veterans, and children in need.
“We have to realise that we’re not going to change the world with the service we do but we’ll change our small part of it. A haircut might not seem like a big deal, but for those who cannot afford one, it can make a world of a difference.
“If the goal is to make ourselves feel better rather than the other person, we’re going in the wrong direction. Also, it can be counterproductive to habitually over commit.
“I didn’t have money to give, so I asked myself what I could give, and a haircut was the most obvious thing to give,” said Kawa.
