Willie Mogemi aims to be the ultimate hope for young people in Soweto
Local Barber owner empowers youth through haircutting training
When the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in South Africa, the small business sector was among the industries that were hit hard. Local barbers and beauty salons were brought to a standstill and even when some of the restrictions were lifted, they still could not function to their full capacity until the recent lifting of restrictions, alert level 2.
However, the talented barber owner, Willie Mogemi could at least keep his business going sooner than most barbers and salons while following lockdown regulations, as he was used to doing home calls even before the pandemic, and that’s how the name Home Barber, which is the name of his barbershop came about.
“I always had a special talent of cutting hair as I love art, I saw the gap in the industry, as there was no professional barbershop like mine,” Mogemi said.
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“My goal was to give my customers the experience of getting their professional haircuts at the comfort of their homes without them going to the salon, I started to get bookings in a form of house calls and became popular for that. And that’s basically how the name Home Barber came about,” he added.
The 25-year-old Mogemi took his business to another level when he started teaching aspiring haircutters in his community.
“I started teaching young aspiring haircutters in my community, training, and empowering them so they can also own barbers. By doing this, I’ve proudly helped three professional barbers around my community which is the best feeling, I want youth to start realising that their dreams are valid, instead of getting involved in ‘dream thieves’ such as drugs and crime. My dream is to make sure crime and drug abuse are at the lowest rate in my country as well in my community,” he said.
Mogemi mentioned Thabo Samukele Mohlotsane and Thato Mogase as some of his success stories.
“These are some of the most influential students that are doing well for themselves guided and empowered by Home Barber. We give free haircuts for children that cannot afford to get haircuts and do events to give kids free haircuts to promote the culture of giving back to the needy,” he said.
Based mainly on Diepkloof and Naledi, Mogemi said that he has gained trust from clients all over Soweto including celebrities, such as the likes of Chef Nti and Dj Sbu, who have shown off his work on their Instagram pages.
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