Covid obliges, only his ebony eyes appear on his masked face. But in his gaze alone, we see all the generosity and kindness of Seloua. This resident of Antony, in the Hauts-de-Seine, offers her services to cut the hair of the homeless, once a week at the town hall of the 5th.
At 27, the young woman had her share of struggles. Last year, with the health crisis and confinement, Seloua tried somehow to keep his transport business afloat before resigning himself to shutting down.
Seloua tries to retrain by passing a competition for an airline. But here too, the health crisis forced him to abandon his plan. “I couldn’t stand to sit idly by at home. I don’t like taking advantage of unemployment either, ”says the young woman.
“Hairdressing cannot experience a crisis! “
It is his mother who then blows him the idea of taking again … the scissors. As a child, Seloua regularly accompanied and helped her mother at the hairdressing salon where she worked. Neither one nor two, the young woman follows his advice. “After all, hairdressing cannot have a crisis: hair never stops growing! She smiles.
It was barely a few months after her beginnings as an apprentice that the 5th mayor’s project to offer the services of a hairdresser to the homeless came back to her ears. “I was immediately thrilled and told the town hall that I was available as soon as the service was launched. With the mayor of the 5th (Editor’s note: Florence Berthout), it didn’t drag on! She found all the necessary equipment so that I could work there, ”recalls Seloua.
Reaching out to the most disadvantaged, the young woman has already done so by going to Africa to dig wells. Mutual aid and generosity are part of family values. “My mother always taught me to share your bread. Poverty, she lived it, ”says Seloua.
Comfort and comfort break
For a month, during her day off, the apprentice has therefore taken public transport to Paris. No shopping session for this fashion addict. But head for the Place du Panthéon to come and take care of the homeless in the neighborhood.
“I moved into the home for homeless women in the town hall of the 5th, from 1 pm to 5 pm”, explains Seloua. The young woman likes to offer a break of comfort and reassurance to these homeless people. “They are all treated like customers: I ask them what they want for a haircut, I hear from them…” says Seloua.
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A shampoo, a relaxing head massage: treatments experienced as little luxuries for these people on the street. “Last Monday, I received a man who hadn’t cut his hair for a year! “
During this break, some indulge in confidences. “The last time, it was a gentleman who told me about the great studies he had done… and now he sleeps under the bridges. All these stories hurt me but I must not show them! »Admits the young woman.
Every Monday, 5 to 6 people pass between his scissors. She would like to do more, but the constraints of the sanitary protocol limit the number of possible passages. “I hope that when this crisis is behind us, I can receive more people! »Already imagines the young woman.
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