News24 | Barber’s free haircuts for elderly men go viral as offers come in to support his mission

Trenton Makwarela giving one of the men a haircut at the Mamelodi Old Age Home. The resident's face has been blurred as the facility is awaiting permission for residents to be identified.

Screenshot/Trenton Makwarela

• Trenton Makwarela, a barber from Mamelodi East, gave free haircuts to elderly men at an old-age home in his community, and his video has received more than 500 000 views in six days.
• The viral response prompted thousands of reactions, with social media users offering to help expand the initiative, which Makwarela calls “Trent Gives Back”, to other facilities.
• Makwarela said he wanted to establish proper procedures before accepting donations or arranging further visits, hoping to turn the act into an ongoing community project.

A Mamelodi barber’s decision to give free haircuts to elderly men at an old-age home in his community has gone viral, with his video receiving more than 500 000 views in six days.

Trenton Makwarela, from Mamelodi East Extension 2, said he had not planned the visit or expected it to attract widespread attention.

The barber said his decision was influenced partly by having a grandfather whom he cares for at home.

“It wasn’t a plan. I just thought of it. I just wanted to give them a better hour. I was just giving [back] as a person,” he said.

Makwarela said his mother introduced him to a man running a training programme at Legends Barbershop in 2023, which was where his career in barbering began.

“Since then, I’ve been trying, hustling through the ups and downs of being a barber,” he said.

For Makwarela, barbering is about more than grooming. He enjoys seeing the difference a haircut can make to someone’s confidence.

“My favourite part is putting smiles on people’s faces. That feeling you get after giving someone a haircut, the confidence that you bring, that’s what I love,” he said.

When he arrived at the old-age home, Makwarela was welcomed by a woman at the gate who introduced him to the residents.

“They were wonderful,” he said.

The visit was not without its challenges, as Makwarela had to be mindful of the needs of the elderly residents, but he said he remained focused on giving those he was able to assist a positive experience.

He filmed the visit and posted it online, but said the intention was simply to raise awareness.

Instead, the video prompted thousands of reactions, with social media users encouraging him to continue his work and offering to help.

The response has now pushed Makwarela to consider taking what he has called “Trent Gives Back” beyond the first old-age home, with suggestions including other old-age homes, orphanages and schools for people with disabilities.

“They’re pushing me to actually put it out there, and it’s something that I really want to do,” he said.

Many offers to donate

Some people have also offered to donate money towards transport and other costs, but Makwarela said fundraising was never part of his original plan.

“I never put it out there for people to donate money. The first comment led to another. Another comment led to another,” he said.

With the offers of support growing, Makwarela said he wanted to establish the correct procedures before accepting donations or arranging visits to other facilities.

He said:

I haven’t done my research on those types of things. That’s why I also left a comment asking for someone to actually help me with the right information.”

Four days after the video went viral, he returned to the old-age home to check on the residents and ask what they needed.

“I wanted to gather information on the things they want, they need, and they can use,” he said.

The experience also made him realise that future visits would need to be properly coordinated with facilities, particularly when people wanted to contribute food, care packages or other services.

Makwarela said his own contribution would remain centred on barbering and grooming.

Not once-off

He also wants to ensure that the initiative does not become simply a one-off social media moment.

“I’m trying to make it an often thing because obviously I don’t think giving them the haircut is enough,” he said.

“I want to actually go back to them. I’m still planning my things properly, but I’m definitely going back.”

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Although he has not yet approached other homes, Makwarela said he hoped to develop a schedule, starting with facilities closer to home before expanding the project.

For now, he is taking time to understand what is required before bringing together volunteers and accepting offers of assistance.

“I don’t want to fall on the wrong side of whatever movement social media has created. I want to gather information first, then probably I will gather people up and just make it happen,” he said.

Makwarela hopes his experience will encourage others to use whatever skills they have to give back to their communities.

“Spread love, always. Do it out of the goodness of your heart. As long as it’s genuine, as long as you really mean it, everything will go well,” he said.

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