After her first visit to Varanasi, India, professional beautician Maricruz Morales had a vision of offering free training in the Beauty Arts to impoverished Indian women. She ran hair styling workshops for several years, and as the classes grew, she realized the need for an established location to further develop the program.
Shakti Beauty School was founded in 2019 as an offering within our woman’s empowerment initiative, Project Shakti. Since then, Maricruz and her team of like-minded colleagues, all unpaid volunteers, have been teaching hair styling, makeup artistry, manicure/pedicure, henna design and eyebrow threading to poor women of all ages. By learning these skills, students are able to find work to support themselves and their families. Many are now teachers and others have their own shops and salons.
Promising Beauty School graduates receive scholarships for advanced training which qualify them for open positions at top-tier Varanasi salons. A single scholarship costs $869 and prepares a young women for a career that can keep her family from poverty.
Shakti Beauty School is more than just a school. It is a safe gathering place where women find support and inspiration to learn and grow, desipte their unfortunate life circumstances. Watching them so eager and quick to learn, and deeply grateful for the opportunity, gives meaning to what we do at Shakti Beauty School.
The school operates completely from donations. Please consider making a contribution.
Donate to Shakti Beauty School
We also gratefully accept donations of the following items which are needed for vocational training:
- Hair cutting scissors, capes, combs (small & large)
- Paddle & wet brushes
- Shampoo capes
- Hair clips
- Make Up & application brushes
