At Bwendel Diary
and Fabrication farm in Hoima, the duo Chris Byamukama, and Yudatha Agonzebwa,
both graduates of St. Simon Peter's Vocational Training Institute in Hoima, are busy
carrying out assigned tasks.
Bwendel, 23, grew
up in Kyangwali seeing many of his seniors operate machines at a nearby printery.
To him this was magic. This affected his craving to become a teacher.
“I always wanted to do something practical
and sophisticated,” he says.
His
dream turned into reality when he chanced upon a radio announcement that was
mobilizing for the enrolment of students in vocational training in Hoima. “When I came here, I wanted to become a motor
vehicle mechanic but the course did not seem so “hi-tech” so I settled for
welding because of the opportunity presented by the construction boom in the town
and availability of machinery at the training institute,” he affirms.
The story is not
very different for Yudatha. The 21-year-old lady wanted to be either an Electrical
engineer or a teacher. This decision
became easier to make when the principal of St. Simon Peter's VTI Hoima,
passionately gave a lecture on skilling at her local church after mass. “This motivational talk about ready
employment particularly enticed me to quickly make a decision,” she says
with a smile.
Out of over 40
students who were on an internship, four interns were retained for employment at
Bwendel and Yudatha was the only lady.
The duo earn UGX
240,000 ($80) per month and Yudatha dedicatedly spends half the money to her
young sister’s school fees. Chris is saving up to realise his dream of venturing into real
estate (rentals) in the far future. He believes that rental space is easy to
manage and he has the skill to do part of the work needed.
Yudatha and
Chris said that their biggest challenge is that they work 7 days a week and
have no time to run personal errands. They, however, believe that the chance and opportunity to gain employment immediately after
school has given them the needed exposure in the world of work.
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