She’s a cut above the rest
Passionate hairdresser finds joy in helping disadvantaged students
MARIETTA Millard might be thousands of kilometres from her homeland, but she feels right at home in a hairdressing salon in Brisbane.
This month, the vibrant 68year-old South African discovered Alexa’s Teneriffe salon on her first Australian visit to see her brother, the legendary cricketer Kepler Wessels.
With her father a vascular surgeon and her brother’s high-profile career (Kepler Wessels captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia and he was the first man to have played one-day international cricket for two countries), it would have been easy for Marietta to lead a reasonably quiet and comfortable life.
Instead, in her mid-30s, after attaining degrees in teaching and acting, she travelled yet another road into hairdressing.
Once she had her qualifications, she merged these skills with her teaching practice and 26 years ago established what has now become the biggest hairdressing training school in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Today, most students, some 150, come from the Xhosa tribe and for students considered as disadvantaged the government allocates bursaries to pay their fees.
“I love working with the learners,” Marietta said.
Her joy in teaching means she harbours no thoughts of retirement.
“I’m there from 7.30am– 4.30pm five days a week. It’s an adventure,” she said. “I’ll work until I drop.”
In South African hairdressing, there are three areas where qualifications must be gained – caucasian hair, afro hair and barbering.
Marietta praises many of the young women for their digital dexterity, resulting in creative styles through braiding and weaving.
But male students make up a significant part of the classes.
Marietta described the auspicious day a young boy’s grandmother came to Eastern Cape and asked her to admit her grandson, who was deaf and dyslexic.
“She told me he was passionate about learning hairdressing,” she said.
At first Marietta said she wondered if his hearing impairment would affect his learning ability.
But on second thoughts, she felt it wasn’t up to her to say she wouldn’t train him – rather it was up to her to give him a go.
“It’s always been in my heart
to give back, no matter how different the circumstances,” she said.
It turned out the young man, Sheldon Aspeling, could lip read and interpret through movements.
Soon the class was communicating through sign language and after three years of training he graduated.
In 2016, Sheldon joined many of the college’s alumni and opened his own successful salon in Port Elizabeth.
As Marietta talks, it’s evident
that this vivacious woman sees more than students, rather she sees a generation of South Africans with education and training to carve out a life for themselves.
Student’s Hair Hero
A further insight to Marietta comes from a former student, Leo Van Deventer, who nominated her for a Hair Hero award. He wrote:
“I would like to nominate Marietta Millard, director of Images 1 Hair Academy in Port Elizabeth.
“Marietta is like a mother to all hairdressers in Port Elizabeth.
“She not only teaches with love and patience, she also uplifts the community by training less privileged students with the skills development program.
“Marietta once planted a tiny seed in my heart ... If you can dream it, you can do it. I’ve carried these words with me every day.”