Mayuge graduates using hands on skills to improve lives

Erias Kanene had dropped out of school in primary seven after his father passed on and his mother could not afford to pay his school fees.

Kanene had to give up studies and fend for the family since he was the oldest child and his family looked at him as the head of the family.

Kanene had to juggle many jobs like brick laying, working at building sites, fetching water for people in Mayuge and digging in people's farms to earn a living and sustain his mother and siblings.

However his woes did not last long. He was identified by Habitat for humanity officials and he was among the 34 school drop outs that were facilitated by the organization to get hands on skills Pioneer technical institute in Iganga.

Today Kanene has skills in carpentry and together with his friends they have vowed to change their lives and those of the people they live with. Rita Mutesi a graduate with skills in beauty and hair dressing said much as she had dropped out of school and conceived, she can now take care of herself and her child.

"I will use the skills I have gained to better my life and that of my family,"Mutesi said. Excited with machines to work with as start-up capital Mutesi encouraged her fellow graduates not to sit back but rather work hard to show people the value of hands on skills.

"People look at students of vocational and technical  institutes as failures but to disprove them, we need to work hard and shine  so that we show them that we are successful in life, this will change their mindset about vocational and technical institutes," Mutesi said.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony carried out at Mayuge Municipal council offices, Moses Omajungo the principle Pioneer technical institute told graduates to ignore politics and rather concentrate on what helps them build their career.

"This is because your life has been restored and now that you have hands on skills, its time you value what you have and devise means of using it to better your life," Omajungo said.

Leticia Kiyingi, the acting director Habitat for humanity encouraged the graduates not to sell the machines that they were given to use as they do their work.

"These machines are to help you start working immediately without relaxing in the villages. Start practicing what you were taught now and slowly your client base will grow and money will start coming in," she said.

On the same occasion over 34 Mayuge residents who had challenges of housing were given decent homes in addition to having their children skilled in different academic disciplines.

Agnes Byobona a mother to one of the graduates and one of the beneficiaries who got a house said her days of suffering under a one roomed house had finally come to an end.

"Today, I have a graduate and decent shelter, thanks be to God. I will value what I have achieved today and pray that more people get helped, " she said.

Kiyingi asked the graduates to keep their homes clean and even put up small workshops around their homes so that they could work without renting working space.

She told them to always look at themselves as job creators and not seekers because with hands on skills, one can create employment for himself and others.