Breaking Gender and Cultural Barriers in Youth Skills Training

So much emanates from the story of Violet Kigongo Mukoshi, a female Welding & Fabrication student at the Mabati Technical Training Institute. But what stands out is how she is representing young women breaking the gender and cultural barrier and taking up careers like welding that would otherwise be dominated by men.

Violet comes out as a focused young lady when you meet her. In fact, she spends most of her time in her welding and fabrication class, where we took time waiting for her to complete a practical assignment.
Violet was born in Changamwe and they later relocated to Nairobi (approximately 400kms. away), where she was raised by a single mother of two. Unfortunately the mother passed on in 2018, leaving Violet and her brother all to themselves. She then had to step up and walk loudly in her career endeavors. “I had to do odd jobs to take care of myself. This included working in peoples’ homes and restaurants. I love baking and so at times I could bake small cakes and sell in the neighborhood to earn some income.”

Violet also draws a lot of inspiration from her brother, a former trainee at the Mabati Technical Training Institute who managed to secure a job after training in Welding and Fabrication and was able to support his family together with Violet. “My brother informed me that there were more opportunities for women to take similar courses because there are higher chances for employment after training. This motivated me to seek admission at the Mabati Technical Training Institute.”

Since her brother was not able to fully support her education, she managed to raise only $200 to cater for 50% of the annual fee and registered at the institute for a primer course in General Fitting. “Despite not raising enough money to cover for all the training costs, I knew I had to work extra hard to make the best of the opportunity I secured at MTTI. At the end of the term, I was the best out of 20 students.”

COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning and all lessons were suspended for one year. This also affected livelihoods many families also lost jobs and businesses. “Considering my financial situation, it was difficult for me to survive. When classes resumed, I still had no money.”

Because of her hard work and commitment, the principal invited her back to volunteer in the production unit, where she helped with fabricating tables and chairs for the neighboring local schools. This indeed served as a great opportunity as she was able to eat and even learn from the production teacher. When learning resumed after a year, she was lucky to be selected for a scholarship with KCB Foundation. With this scholarship, Violet then did not have to think about school fees. She is now set for completing her course at the end of the year and hopes to secure a job to earn decent income.

Violet is grateful to KCB Foundation and the Mabati Technical Training Institute for allowing her to fulfill her dreams and acquiring relevant skills which she hopes will enable her secure employment and earn decent income. Her story is indeed one that shows an example of hard work and our hope is that this will be transferred to other young girls who are at the verge of giving up within our communities.

We are indeed grateful for every effort made by our donors and sponsors to ensure more girls like Violet fulfill their passions and dreams of accessing skills that will enable them earn a decent income.