By Virginia Lascara
virginia.lascara@insidebiz.com
When Dalbe Markman, owner of AOC Salon in Ghent, and salon education director Sarah Mitchell arrived in Cambodia, the streets reeked of trash. With sanitation workers on strike, the visitors held their breath as they pushed their way through the markets of Phnom Penh.
Nearly five weeks later, despite strong odors and scarce Western conveniences, Markman had to convince Mitchell to return to America.
At the end of June the two traveled to Cambodia with the nonprofit Justice and Soul Foundation. They spent 4-1/2 weeks volunteering as educators in the newly built cosmetology school for young women and men.
The Kate Korpi Salon will serve as both a salon and school for Cambodian human trafficking victims. Justice and Soul's mission is to help transform trafficked young women and children into confident, self-sufficient and financially independent individuals.
The foundation was created by Seattle salon owner Matthew Fairfax after a client introduced him to Cambodia's human trafficking problem.
Justice and Soul partners with other nongovernment organizations in Cambodia to help the victims. These organizations provide them with a two-year training program, therapy and transitional housing.
For privacy reasons, Markman and Mitchell do not know the details of their students' pasts, other than they were troubled. Three students are enrolled in the program, two females and a male.
Markman and Mitchell's trip to Cambodia marked the beginning of the education process for the training program. When they arrived in Phnom Penh, the salon, which had a budget of $45,000, was unfinished. They cleaned light fixtures, tested chairs and helped Cambodian workers add finishing touches. The two browsed the marketplaces to buy supplies for the students' kits.
"We had a hard time finding tools for their kits," Mitchell said. "We ended up leaving a lot of our tools there for them to use."
No cosmetology schools operate in Cambodia and experts in the field are hesitant to share their experience with newcomers. With the help of educators like Markman and Mitchell, the Kate Korpi Salon will be the first of its kind in Phnom Penh.
"There are no requirements for cosmetology in Cambodia," Mitchell said. "You don't have to be licensed, so you see people cutting hair in the marketplace, right next to a fruit stand."
After they complete the two-year program, graduates will work in the salon and teach incoming students.
Located in the 18-story Sun City building in downtown Phnom Penh, the high-end salon will serve wealthy Cambodians and expatriates.
End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking Cambodia, an NGO network of 26 organizations, reports that about one third of trafficking victims in prostitution are children, many fooled into thinking they will be working as domestic servants and then coerced into sexual exploitation. Often sold by their own relatives, the children are forced to work to support their family or pay back a debt.
Because of the stigma attached to the victims of human trafficking, often family members disown them. When they are old enough to flee their situation, they know no other way of supporting themselves.
"The salon is a way to give them a sustainable career," Mitchell said. "These girls will break the cycle and they will be able to turn around and support their children."
AOC marketing and social media director and senior stylist Jessica Lutzow will make her first trip to Cambodia at the end of September. Her month-long trip will be a continuation of the work done by Markman and Mitchell. Lutzow will team with another Hampton Roads stylist to help teach cosmetology.
"It's really special coming together with competition to share the passion and help people," said Markman, who says that she and Mitchell both plan on returning to Cambodia with Justice and Soul.
Markman and Mitchell ended their time at the salon with a cut-a-thon, in which students cut the hair of family, friends and sponsors.
"They were so proud," Markman said.
