...started an NPO’
for Sam Hill and her wife, Natalie, 2020 was meant to be their year. ‘We’d planned on expanding our salon to a second location, buying a home and going on our honeymoon overseas.’ At that stage, Sam headed up the creative team for a global marketing agency, while Natalie owned a hair salon.
Then lockdown kicked in. ‘At first we were happy; it was the responsible thing to do to flatten the curve and save the lives of not only ourselves but everyone else too.’ Natalie couldn’t reopen the salon, but it was just 21 days – they’d tighten their belts and get through it, they thought. It was when the unpredictable timeline was announced that ‘we started to panic’, Sam recalls. ‘We struggled, and it caused chaos with our mental health.’
Not only that, but it was terrifying to leave the house: both Sam and Natalie had previous health issues that put them in a high-risk category. ‘Going into a shop to get groceries for the first time in weeks, I panicked at the number of people not adhering to social distancing, bumping into us and not even wearing masks.’ Their risky situation forced them to have real conversations with each other. ‘We had to talk about what would happen if one of us died – how would the other manage?’
They were able to lean on each other and are proud to say they’re in a much better place because of it. ‘We grew closer, and our love for each other has grown exponentially.’ Every day during lockdown, they asked each other, ‘Will you marry me?’, even when things got hard. And once they’d managed to get their own mental health back on track, they started to look around for others to help – and became enraged at the lack of support for disadvantaged South Africans. ‘Yes, we struggled, but I still had a job and we had a roof over our heads, food to eat, running water, electricity and all the niceties of privilege,’ says Sam. ‘So many did not have that, and this was exacerbated during lockdown.’
The couple decided to help out by starting a non-profit to assist workers in the personal care industry, like
‘We fed many families around the country, and advocated for the personal care industry sector to open under strict safety protocols.’
Then lockdown happened. ‘Everything just stopped,’ says Haroldene Tshienda. ‘I didn’t have to get up at 5am to make lunches; I didn’t have school runs; I didn’t have to prepare for the workday.’
hairstylists, beauty therapists, makeup artists, as well as support staff. ‘We fed many families around the country, and advocated for the industry sector to open under strict safety protocols.’
Things are paused at the moment with their NPO Hair & Beauty Industry Support Foundation, but they hope to get it up and running again as soon as possible to create sustainable options in terms of food security, with homegrown produce, education and self-development. ‘We had plans to upskill the local homeless community as barbers and stylists, teaching them skills that would allow them to get back into the workforce.’
But for now, Natalie is back at the salon, and they are hoping to enjoy a belated honeymoon soon. ‘We want to keep on learning, growing and hopefully assist others to do the same.’
and I broke down.’ She reached out to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, which advised her to go on medication. She stopped sleeping and eating. In January, when she tried to go back to work, she found herself just trying to make it to the next day.
Then lockdown happened. ‘Everything just stopped,’ says Haroldene. ‘I didn’t have to get up at 5am to make lunches; I didn’t have school runs; I didn’t have to prepare for the workday.’ She says it was the best thing that could have happened. ‘It was as if I’d emerged from a fog; I started to write down how I had felt in the past year.’ She started doing her nails, exercising again, making time for herself to sit in the bath with a glass of wine… she even started complimenting herself again. In fact, she says, the Mindfulness Journal she received with her May issue of FAIRLADY was a great resource.
Looking back, Haroldene says it’s crazy to think that she was at the point of leaving her husband. ‘I made a conscious decision never to lose myself again, and I’m now on this journey of self-love that I am ready to share with the world.’
Next year will see her speaking at events to promote her poetry collection, Beyond the Pain, in which she describes her personal journey. ‘I don’t know what would have happened if lockdown hadn’t forced me to stop and take a breath,’ she says.