WATCH: Think smart campaign grooms and guides Wentworth boys

A SMARTLY dressed young man not only looks good but also feels good and wants to do good. A newly founded campaign Dress Smart, Think Smart aims to do just that with learners from various high schools in Wentworth. Co-owners of a Bluff based barbershop Groomsmen, Wesley Sheffer and Sean Dressing in partnership with the ward 64 Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) committee are doing their bit to groom the young men into well-adapted members of society.

Wesley is of the idea that coming from a disadvantaged background should not be a stumbling block to the realisation of one’s dreams much like he was able to do with his own life having been born and breed on Hime Street in Wentworth, a road notorious for a lot of social ills.

“We’ve been gentrifying the community by inspiring the youth with the knowledge that was not imparted to us. The programme is about grooming which is what we do as a barbershop. We groom children, the youth and men just to show them that when they go out into the bigger world that there is a certain way to conduct one’s self. It’s not only about cutting hair but there’s a gentleman factor, there’s a way in which you move and how you treat women and your peers, so it’s bigger than just a hair cut,” he said.

He believes that charity begins at home which is why their focus has been on the young men in Wentworth. “It’s the schools myself and Sean went to. We’ve walked that road and we just want to make it a little bit lighter for the young boys,” said Wesley who added that their programme started off with learners from their former school, Umbilo Secondary.

In addition to running their shop, the duo also run other businesses separately. Wesley has a clothing line while Sean has a construction company. Both travelled and lived abroad which they believe qualify them to play the big brother roles to the learners as they have a wealth of knowledge and perspectives. “I try to get a feel of what they’re going through so that I can give them direction according to the knowledge that I have and what the Groomsmen qualities are. The highest aspect of humanity is to inspire and that’s what we want to do. To focus and harness what the child’s ability is, at an infant stage,” Wesley added.

Neil Axford of OSS said the Dress Smart, Think Smart concept originated from a former principal at Fairvale Secondary School from the 1980s, Mr Jaffa, who believed that if a boy child is groomed to dress and look smart, he’ll think smartly. “We are trying to take away the stigma that learners call ‘eyeball’ when they look down upon another and shift the focus to academics rather than appearance,” he said.

“Both these men are from exactly the same community, they did not buy into poverty and have vowed never to because they come from the flat life, where all the gangsterism, drugs and social ills are taking place. These are their testimonies and now they are excelling in their careers. These children are realising real-life testimonies and in fact, we are leading up to having these men be role models to these children,” Neil added.

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