We are thrilled to share news about our affiliated school, Dream Beauty Academy! In November of 2012, we opened Dream Beauty Academy in Kigali, Rwanda, Africa. In 1994 Rwanda experienced a horrendous genocide Over 800,000 people lost their lives in just 100 days. Now, all these years later, the resilient nation still suffers lingering economic, emotional, and physical scars. As the country began the daunting task of rebuilding, some of the very first jobs to reemerge were salon jobs. As we learned about the needs of this nation of survivors, the Academy looked for ways to support Rwanda and the Dream Beauty Academy was born.

Since opening, we have seen 110 beautiful women and men build careers for themselves and their families. Many of these students walked an hour each way just to come to school because they knew that an education is a powerful weapon when fighting poverty. And the best part is that The Dream Beauty Academy provides essentially free cosmetology educations and is mostly funded through donations. You can read more information about the African cosmetology school and make donations to help educate more people through the school’s updated webpage at AfricaNewLife.org.

As a student in our Missouri or Texas schools, you get to be a part of our commitment to giving. We take staff and students to visit our sister school in Rwanda – an experience described as once in a lifetime. Moving forward, we are dedicated to open more schools in other developing nations. This industry can be life-changing, and it is our sincere hope that each of our students, in every state, feels equipped to work hard and empowered to dream big.