With the President initially announcing a partial lockdown on June 6th and later a full lockdown on June 18th to stem the new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, many youths thought of how they would earn a living.    

 Latifah Nakiranda 19, completed her senior four in 2019 and during her vacation, she started doing tailoring as she waited for the exams to return.

'In 2016 I got a sponsor to pay my school fees because I had dropped out of school in Senior two who paid my fees up to S4.

From childhood, I wanted to be a nurse and I longed for that profession because I loved treating people. However, when the S4 results were released I hadn’t passed the science subjects very well.  

Nakiranda (second left) doing crotchet with other girls.

Fortunately, before the exams were out, I had enrolled on the tailoring course after which I later got more interested in hence continuing with it’’ Nakiranda said.    

She said that her sponsor brought a trainer to her centre in Nakifuma to teach her more other skills which included doing crochet in bags, crochet bathroom rugs, crochet tablecloths, making cross bags, making laptop bags, and making school bags.  

Nakiranda says that she can now perfectly make men, women and children’s clothes in different fashions together with school bags, wallets, laptop bags in all designs. 

Nakiranda putting on a dress and bag she made.

How I started 

'Since I wasn’t given an initial amount of money in cash that I started with to do business because I didn’t have, my sponsor, suggested that when I sell any of my products which include bags, crochet, dresses, shirts, I take 50% which I saved for my upkeep and give the other 50% to my sponsor so that she can buy more supplies.

I did this for one and a half years and used the money I saved to buy my supplies to do business. I sell my bags between sh5000 to sh25000 depending on the size and texture. Clothes for children go for sh15000 while for adults go for sh30,000 which I sell by hawking in Nakifuma town and neighboring areas. The crochet bags, rags and table clothes are sold at sh10,000 and sh20,000 depending on the size,' Nakiranda explains.

 Achievement 

 I don’t regret doing the tailoring course because I am now at least earning a living from this job.

The other achievement is that I have learnt how to do crotchet bags, blankets, table mats, fabric bags, wallets and laptop bags.

I get at least sh50,000 per day after hawking my products around Nakifuma town which I save and use for upkeep. 

  Challenges       

People in Nakifuma are used to buying things at a very cheap price so, I struggle to bargain with them during the selling time so that I can at least get profits.    

Plans 

In future, I hope to make a one-stop-shop for all my products so that I can stop hawking my products because it’s so tiresome.   

I hope to also start training youth who want to learn these skills so that they can also start earning as I am doing.