A Life of Purpose: From Human Services to Healing Through Hair
Human Services Professional | Hair Care Expert | Community Trainer | Executive Director at Awakening Smiles Initiative [ASI] (Non-Profit) since 2011.
My calling to human services began in the most humble places — deep villages, classrooms, hospitals, prisons, and homes — where I served the broken, the forgotten, and the vulnerable. I worked closely with school dropouts, women escaping prostitution, abandoned patients, and families struggling with poverty and trauma. I listened, learned, and took action.
To truly meet people where they were, I knew I had to grow beyond just support work. I pursued counseling and mentorship training, eventually helping youth navigate broken homes, guiding women through healing from abuse, and restoring hope to people society had left behind.
This passion led me to found the Awakening Smiles Initiative (ASI) — a nonprofit movement that empowers orphans, single mothers, elderly caregivers, and vulnerable communities. Through ASI, I led impactful projects in Wakiso, Kayunga, and Kabale, including:
• Tree planting and green health programs
• Small space backyard farming for survival
• Mentorship and trades training for women and youth
• School supplies drives, hygiene kits, and home visits
• Emotional healing and community restoration
These experiences didn’t just shape my career — they shaped my heart.
Healing Through Hair — and Plants: A Gift Turned Mission
My journey with hair began long before the nonprofits and programs — at just 8 years old, in a tiny salon in Kayunga town, Uganda, I started helping braid hair. By the age of 15, I was styling professionally. It was never just about the beauty — it was about connection, confidence, and care.
As I grew deeper into human services, I realized my hairstyling was more than a talent — it was a healing tool. I began training women in hair braiding as a trade to lift them out of hardship, teaching girls in underserved areas how to turn their hands into a career. Through Awakening Smiles Initiative (ASI), I’ve empowered countless youth and mothers with hair skills they still use today.
This passion led me to pursue advanced training in plant botany, where I studied herbs, organic oils, fruits, and vegetables. I used this knowledge not only to create my own natural, cold-pressed hair care products, but also to teach families how to grow, preserve, and profit from their small home gardens.
I taught communities how to:
• Use small spaces to plant food and healing herbs
• Preserve vegetables and herbs for long-term use
• Understand the medicinal properties of common plants
• Sell excess produce to generate income
• Create sustainable, off-grid backyard farming systems
These lessons gave birth to income-generating programs for women, elderly caregivers, and youth — empowering families to feed themselves, improve their health, and build a better future from their own backyards.
And my commitment didn’t stop at training — it’s financial too. 100% of all tips received at Nora’s Locs & Braids go directly to supporting the work of ASI, helping to feed, educate, and uplift those in need in Uganda. Every hairstyle becomes part of a larger story — one of dignity, restoration, and global impact.
I don’t just serve with my hands — I serve with my heart. Whether in a village, a hospital, or a salon, my mission remains the same: to restore, uplift, and empower.
