No more bad hair days for disabled in northwest Turkey

By Tayyip Hosbas

DUZCE, Turkey

Disabled people in northwestern Duzce province will no longer need to move from their wheelchairs for a haircut, thanks to a special hydraulic system installed at a barber shop Tuesday.

The shop now has a designated place for the disabled where a unique hydraulic system allows wheelchairs to be adjusted in front of the mirror.

Serdar Gunduz, owner of the shop, said he came up with the idea after he saw what his 17-year-old disabled neighbour, Eren Sevinc, had to go through just for a simple haircut and a shave.

Gunduz said: “We thought of an idea and converted an industrial machine into a chair for the disabled through our own efforts.

"I wish this project serves as a model for Turkey, and spreads in waves.”

Duzce Governor Zulkif Dagli lauded the step.

Projects that make the lives of the disabled community easier should increase in number, Dagli said.

“This project should be developed. We will also support it,” he said.

The head of the barbers and coiffeurs chamber in Duzce, Necdet Kurunduk, said Gunduz's initiative was the first of its kind in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the teenaged neighbor, Sevinc, was all smiles after he became the first customer of the new system at the hair saloon.

Gunduz said it makes him happy to see the disabled and the families pleased with his initiative.

“A dream came true.”