The civil war in Sierra Leone rendered a devastating effect on the country. It has destroyed many families, homes and businesses. An overwhelming number of men (who had been the sole breadwinners of their families) have been incapacitated due to war injuries and therefore unable to provide for their families.  Because of this changing dynamic, women (who for the most part had been unemployed) are now seeking means of employment to sustain their families. Amnesty International reported that even six years after the end of the war, tens of thousands of women and girls who survived mass rapes, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and other crimes of sexual violence continue to suffer as so-called "rebel wives," targeted for discrimination and exclusion, and denied access to health care, jobs and school. In desperation, many are doing whatever it takes to survive on their own, even if it means prostitution.

In March 2007, Cinderella Foundation sponsored the Cole Stevens Salon and Day Spa Design team to Sierra Leone, West Africa and conducted a four day beauty curriculum called “Beauty with a Purpose”. This program helped to provide a way out of poverty for at least 300 families by teaching cosmetology skills to women who previously had lacked the skills to obtain gainful employment or start their own businesses. The Cinderella Team will continue to travel to Sierra Leone annually to help women develop professional cosmetology and entrepreneurial skills. The next trip will take place in March 2010.