Birungi Esther is a twenty-one-year-old Welder and painter living in Katooke, Nansana Division. She is one of the young people that have benefited from our Economic Empowerment program through vocational skilling. Tenth of eleven siblings, after completing senior four in 2018, Esther’s mother failed to raise school fees so that she can continue her studies sending her over to Kampala, to her aunt to see how she can be supported. “I came to Kampala to live with my aunt and while I was there, someone told me about the free training opportunity at. I immediately went there and registered for training for the Welding and Metal Fabrication Course,” She recalls
In 2019, Esther was enrolled for the Welding and Metal Fabrication Course at AFFCAD Business and Vocational Institute in Kisenyi. “I chose this course because I wanted to know that women too can be welders rather than apply for courses that are usually taken up by women. I trained for one year and I was able to become a qualified Welder after I passed by DIT assessments with an A plus.”
“Upon graduation, I got a welding job at a workshop in Namugongo where I was given ten thousand shillings a day that I used majorly for transport as I was living in Katooke but I was determined to learn more about my job. While at work, I realised that for me to get more work, I had to learn how to do painting as welding and painting moved hand in hand so I used the opportunity to learn how to paint,” Esther recalls.
While working in Namugongo, a fellow trainee recommended Esther for a job at Riham Industries where she worked for six months before moving on to Plascon paints to become a full-time painter while also doing welding at the same time. Esther is grateful to AFFCAD for the opportunity to pursue her dream as it has enabled her to move to places, she thought she would never go. “I am grateful to AFFCAD and its partners for the opportunity and I encourage fellow youth to gain a skill that they can use to economically empower themselves.”
