Using one’s skills to earn money is a good thing.
But using those same skills to better the lives of others even if there’s no monetary reward is still an uplifting experience that profits the soul. One barber decided to do that when he closed shop for a day to spend the time giving free haircuts to the homeless.
Sohail Ashfaq, or Ash for short, volunteered for Halifax Homeless and Community Kitchen (HHCK) when they sent out an advertisement on Facebook.
Watch to find out more of this man’s kind act below.
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Video credit: Rumble
Ash, who operates Kings Turkish Barbers in Halifax, West Yorks, used his skills as a barber to cut and style the hair of seven homeless people.
The 36-year-old dad-of-four said: “I love to help people. Putting a smile on people’s faces is an amazing feeling.
“Everyone is donating money, food, and drink. I thought I would do something different and give them a free haircut and shave.
“One of the guys told me his story, he used to have a wife, a house, cars and he just lost everything and ended up on the streets.
“It could happen to anyone, anytime, you just never know.
“When you change a person’s look, you see the smiles on their faces and that they are feeling better. They looked completely different, it was amazing.
“When women go to the hairdressers, they can spend hours there and they keep looking at it and they feel good. Everyone should experience that.
“It definitely made a difference to them, you could see it on their faces. They were all commenting on each other saying they looked like different people.
“The results were amazing. They looked completely different in themselves, you could see a sparkle in each individual’s eyes.
“They looked clean, fresh and neat. It was a job well done.
“Health was one reason for the haircuts. They can go out in the community looking good so people don’t judge them or make silly remarks and they can go for job hunting.
“I think it made them feel excited, smart, clean and best of all, the smile on their faces was a bonus.”
Ash got various hairstyle requests such as short back and side and skin fades although his customers didn’t want to be identified. He enjoyed himself so much that he wants to start doing this once a week but this time with a tent so that it’ll be easier to run electricity.
Ash is hoping his example will inspire his kids Usman, 15, Haleema, 12, Subhan, 11 and Faizaan, 2, to help people who need it the most.
He said: “My daughter, Haleema, is 12, she’s so excited asking when I’m going to do the next one. I can’t wait to do it again.
“I’ll close my business to spend a couple of hours with someone who needs me, it’s such a good cause.”
Every Sunday, HHCK hands out food and other essentials to the homeless in Halifax.
Following the event, a spokesman said: “To see these guys faces after receiving a fresh haircut was truly amazing. He made them look and feel so much better in themselves, they were beaming from ear to ear.
“A truly wonderful thing to witness!”
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