When it comes to war, hair care may be a
non-issue for many. But for black female soldiers, hair concerns while
on military duty only add to their daily struggles. Enter the Sister
Soldier Project, a relief effort started in 2006 by Myraline Morris
Whitaker.
Whitaker, a California businesswoman, learned that the
military requires women to wear their hair sleeked back and “tucked
in.” Without the proper training (and a special-issue ration of ethnic
hair products) black women’s hair texture makes this mission all but
impossible. “The military expects a certain look, and [black women]
just can’t comply,” Whitaker said. “Without the proper products, their
hair cannot be pulled back into a ponytail, not even close.”
Then
Whitaker’s inner entrepreneur kicked in. To help these women meet their
basic hair care needs while stationed overseas, she brought in the
reserves. Whitaker began sending small health, hygiene and hair product
packages to her sister soldiers.
Soon Whitaker’s relief effort
mushroomed. The small project boomed into a full-time organization.
Whitaker sensed there were many more people who might want to help but
didn’t know how. As a result, she created the Sister Soldiers website.
Now there was a way for others to get involved. (What better way to
support these sister soldiers than send them products from those who
could relate?)
Here’s how it works: Whitaker’s website
collects information from African-American female soldiers about the
products they need. Then Sister Soldiers posts these needed products on
their website, from shampoos and conditioners to root stimulators and
relaxers. Visitors to the website can pick a package or packages they’d
like to sponsor then either identify a specific soldier to ship it to
or let Sister Soldier ship to a soldier who has made a request. In a
just a few days sister soldiers in a foreign land can get a health and
hygiene care package from home to help them meet hairdo regulations,
and you’ve shown your gratitude for their time and sacrifice.
Check out SisterSoldier.com to view pictures of packing parties, read thank you notes from soldiers stationed oversees, or make a donation to the cause.
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