Hairdresser gives confidence-boosting haircuts to elderly, poor and disabled

Mingo Tang Kui-ming draws his inspiration from a six-month stint in the west of China in the 1980s.

Having grown accustomed to luxury touring with professional hairdressing shows, he was shocked when he was shown to his accommodation - a cold cave with no bed; he was to sleep on the floor. Meals were sparse, with gritty rice and he was forced to take cold showers. His classroom was no more than a patch of rocky land and when he asked for scissors, Tang was given a scythe.

“I hadn’t realised how poor these people were. They had nothing”, says Tang. Weeks earlier, a Chinese woman had approached Tang after one of his hairdressing demonstrations in Manila, asking him to hold free training in rural Sichuan. “It was an unforgettable experience. Uncomfortable, but very meaningful”, says Tang.

At times he wanted to leave, but he decided that if it he could share his hairdressing skills, he would give these people a means to make money, and would make a real impact on the quality of their lives. Returning to Hong Kong, Tang was determined to make volunteer work a regular part of his life.

Tang says he always wished he could have been more help to his elderly grandmother, who cared for him as a child, along with his six siblings. He saw his parents just three days each year, over Spring Festival, which was the only holiday they could afford. Tang’s grandmother worked tirelessly with limited resources, and died when Tang was in middle school. She remains always close to his heart, says Tang.

He began offering free haircuts to the elderly in a residential estate in Ngau Tau Kok. “The elevator only stopped at every fourth floor. For the elderly or immobile, they were stranded”, says Tang. But if someone never leaves their house, do they need stylish hair?