Barber tours Qadisiah village schools to cut students’ hair for free

AMMAN — When Jordanian barber Muath Qtaishat noticed that many boys in his southern village of Qadisiah could not afford a haircut, he decided to launch an ongoing initiative to help meet their needs. 

For four years now, Qtaishat has been visiting public schools in Tafileh Governorate’s Qadisiah village and cutting students' hair on his day off. 

He explained that while his usual price for a child’s haircut is JD1, many boys in his village who went to his shop could only pay him 100 fils, which was their daily pocket money. 

"Perhaps JD1 is seen by many as cheap, but for many residents of this village, it is really a big deal," he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday. 

"Monday is the day off for barbers in Jordan, and I take advantage of this day to cut students' hair. I start working at 9am and finish at 2:30pm," the barber added.

Qtaishat, who has been working in this profession for 19 years, first goes to the principal of each school and notifies him about the initiative. 

"I let them choose a specific class and I cut the hair of all the students in that class. I don't differentiate between poor or rich boys, I do that for all students and I want to make them happy. Each class has between 50 and 60 students," the 43-year-old said.  

He noted that there are only seven barbers working in his village, and all of them are Egyptians except him. 

"Fifteen young Jordanians I used to train at these schools have graduated from my shop," he added.

Jordanian social media users commended Qtaishat’s generosity on Facebook. 

Khaled Ahmad said the barber’s initiative was an example of patriotism. 

“People ask about the true meaning of loyalty to one’s country, this is true loyalty, not all the nonsense usually talked about,” he commented. 

Bara Awd also commended the charitable step taken by Qtaishat.

“Mashallah! Simple work that has great impact and brings joy to children,” she posted. 

Qtaishat said he will keep working on his initiative and try to expand it further. 

“I will keep teaching more young Jordanians to let them help me at the schools, so that we can cover more classes. Such ventures are greatly needed in Jordan at this time”.