Christine Mastello of the Southlakes Inc Community Hair Project, which operates on the Central Coast, has been selected as a finalist for the 2025 Women Changing the World Awards in the Woman of the Year category.
Presented by Dr Tererai Trent, the awards celebrate and recognise women achieving outstanding success in areas such as sustainability, humanitarian work, leadership, advocacy, tech, product development, education, health and innovation.
They are designed to recognise the growing number of women who are leading the way in making the world a better place and inspiring other women to answer the call to take action.
“These exceptional women are here to awaken hearts, give permission to recapture dreams and inspire the women of the world to come together to forge a brighter path for all,” Trent said.
“The rising of women is the awakening of everybody.”
Mastello didn’t have an easy start in life.
She said she was a victim of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy which has had lasting effects on her life.
But her driving force has been that people should never feel like they are not cared for.
“I now have three beautiful sons I am immensely proud of and have been lucky enough to have had them all help with my charity throughout the years,” she said.
“This work is so important because I know, deep in my soul, what it feels like to believe that no-one cares about you.
“As long as there is breath in my lungs, I will not let the people around me feel the same.
“Every person who receives assistance through any of my projects is met with warmth – if not from me, then from my volunteers.
“A hug, a kind word, a moment of genuine care – these are just as essential as the support we provide.”
Mastello started her first small food pantry with compensation money received from the Department of Community Services.
“Initially, I committed six months to the project, intending to hand it over to another organisation,” she said.
“But as I looked around, I saw that many groups failed to treat their clients with the level of respect and understanding I knew they deserved.
“I couldn’t walk away.”
What started as a mission to help 1,000 people in its first year 14 years ago has now grown into an operation that reaches more than 100,000 people annually.
“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life,” Mastello said.
“Dr Trent’s vision for these awards is to empower women everywhere to reclaim their sacred dreams and call in women across the globe to unite and pave the way towards a better future for all.
“It can be challenging to create change in the world.
“Don’t wait; do it now because people are struggling now more than ever.
“Mums are only having one meal a day so they can feed their kids, seniors are going without heating and air con so they can afford their medication.”
In the past 12 months, Mastello has started a monthly community food pantry in rural communities in NSW and is now providing free haircuts in 150 towns across Australia.
She attributes her success to a deep desire to make the world feel more connected and let people struggling know that someone cares about them.
She is committed to continuing to make an impact through her work and her vision for the future is to support more rural communities with pop-up food pantries and facilitate Certificate III in hairdressing for the Indigenous community in outback towns across Australia.
The winners of the 2025 Women Changing the World Awards will be announced in London on April 3.
For more information wcwawards.com
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