Over 300 kikuube teenage mothers equipped with self-reliance skills

KIKUUBE - Three hundred fifty-three young mothers, most of them school dropouts from areas that were affected by the Kingfisher oil feeder pipeline in Kikuube district have been empowered with life skills for their self-reliance.

The women are part of 527 youth who on November 29, 2025, graduated with certificates in tailoring and design, hairdressing, motorcycle mechanics, catering, electrical installation, welding and building and bricklaying, among others.

The beneficiaries, who went through three-to-four-month training, were trained by Caron Relief Development Foundation and Assessment and Skills Centre with sponsorship from the China National Offshore Oil Company LTD Uganda (CNOOC), which is undertaking the Kingfisher oil field in Buhuka parish, Kyangwali sub-county in Kikuube district.

Speaking at the graduation held at Bugoma Primary School in Kyngwali sub-county on Saturday, CNOOC National Content Manager Eric Daniel Jumba said the beneficiaries were trained under CNOOC National Content Skilling Capacity Agenda.

He noted that the beneficiaries were selected from Kyangwali and Kabwoya sub-counties, where the Kingfisher oil feeder pipeline passed through.

He noted that the vocational skills development programme was initiated after they discovered that the youth, especially young mothers, were school dropouts who lacked skills to tap into the oil and gas sector employment opportunities.

“80% of the beneficiaries are mothers, and they are people who were not able to get direct jobs in the oil and gas sector. We did not want to leave them out. So, what we did is we established programmes to help them to gain skills that will take them out of poverty, skills that will either help them to get employed or start their own jobs”.

He noted that all the beneficiaries were offered with startup kits such as welding machines, sewing machines, tool kits and saloon kits and products among others and called on the leaders to monitor the beneficiaries so that they put them in good use.

CNOOC officials handing over certificates to Kemigisa Kunihura, one of the beneficiaries of the training. (Credit: Peter Abaanabasazi)

Beneficiaries praise the training

Brenda Kusemererwa, a teenage mother and Primary Four dropout from Kamwokya village in Kyangwali sub-county, described the training as a big opportunity in her life.
She said she was trained in hairdressing, adding that the skills she attained will help her to make money to look after her and her baby.

“I'm happy that I have got this skill, people in my village have been talking ill about me, saying that I'm useless to my mother, but with this skill, I'm going to start a salon and start making money, look after myself, my mother and my child,” she said.

Fiona Aijuka, a teenage girl living with her mother in Nyairongo village in Kabwoya sub-county, who trained in tailoring, expressed excitement about the skills imparted to her life, adding that the skills will help her to be self-reliant.

“Because my mother had no money to support my education, I dropped out, and the only work I have been doing was to help my mother in the garden. I am excited that I have got this skill; the skill is going to help me to have my own job,” she said.  

Dismas Babihemaiso, the chairperson of Nsonga A village in Buhuka parish, said the training is going to change the lives of the community and address the challenge of idleness among the youth, which sometimes leaves youth engaging in criminality in the area.

He noted that the youth who have been wasting time in non-development acts are now going to be engaging in meaningful development activities.

He noted that there are a big number of youth in the community lacking skills to sustain their lives and appealed for more training opportunities to empower those who missed.

However, he warned the beneficiaries against selling off the startup kits given to them and challenged them to utilise the skills acquired and create jobs instead of seeking for jobs.