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Big-hearted barber Lileth Culaban is proving to be a cut above the rest with elderly folk in the community.
He brings a smile to the faces of pensioners by providing them with free trims on the first week of every month during trips to the Muharraq Social Welfare Centre. Lileth, 42, travels from his home in Hoora, to carry out his good deeds and says he gets as much out of the experience as the old folk he meets.
“When I was a child, I was very close to my grandparents and missed them dreadfully when they passed away,” he explained. “Whenever I meet elderly people it reminds me of my special time with them which wasn’t long enough and I can’t help but think of my family. I hope they would be proud of what I have accomplished.
“I feel fulfilled with my career as a hairdresser and I want to share my blessings with others as well as to give something back to the community. “I enjoy the interaction with my senior friends. They excitedly wait for visitors and volunteers every month and when we do come, they talk and laugh with us. We even perform little shows for them on occasions to make them smile!”
Lileth has been a professional hairdresser for 27 years and started offering free haircuts to the elderly in 2005. He also regularly visits churches, orphanages and other charitable organisations putting his skills to good use for free.
He also teaches hairdressing and make-up skills to runaway Filipino maids at the Philippine Embassy in order to help them increase their chances of finding employment. Lileth started his hairdressing career in the Philippines when a friend suggested they join a course.
“We started a course together but I was the only one who managed to finish it completely!” He moved to Bahrain in 1991 to launch a hairdressing business of his own, now known as Delocky Hairdressing Salon in Hoora. As he was setting up the shop both his parents died back home in the Philippines.
“My biggest regret is that I wasn’t able to provide for them while I was here as I was only just starting out,” he said. But that loss proved to be a motivating force to succeed. He now provides for his siblings and their children and is currently having a house built for his sister after her home was destroyed following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Lileth, in demand as a stylist, said: “When life knocks me down, I pick up a pair of scissors and carry on!” Although hairdressing is his main focus, he is also a renowned make-up artist and designer. “I am currently working on a project for my niece’s dress for her 18th birthday party,” he said. “Her father died last year and I promised her that if she did well in her exams I would throw her a huge party.
“It is a part of a Filipino rite of passage for a girl to celebrate her 18th birthday in style. I wouldn’t want her to miss out. I’m not married so I particularly like to help my niece and nephews.”
