By Eric Didier Karinganire
With a brick trowel in hand, Uwase Confiance is ready to lay her bricks and break barriers in the traditionally male-dominated field of construction. Her daily activities as a student involve working with cement and heavy tools.
“Choosing to continue my studies in construction is one of the best decisions I took! It’s not easy for women but for me before taking this decision I looked for benefits ahead and I was motivated through different clubs here in the camp where they were sensitizing us women to dare as females, we are also able,” Confiance explains.
The Congolese refugee has been eager to do construction since the beginning of this year when she started learning building and construction at a technical secondary school that was recently built near Mahama refugee camp.
The construction of more technical schools is in line with pledges made by the Government of Rwanda at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in 2019. This commitment aimed to expand technical and vocational education and training to benefit 30% of refugees and host communities by constructing or upgrading TVET infrastructure in refugee hosting districts, equipping them, and allocating scholastic materials. At Paysannat LD Technical school, where Confiance is studying, there are currently a total number of 179 refugee students.
In total, currently around 500 refugee students are attending technical secondary schools across the country with the number on the rise due to the construction of schools close to refugee camps.
For Confiance, she hopes that a career in a technical field will ease some of the hurdles that come with being a refugee.
Forced to flee their home in eastern DR Congo in 2012, Confiance and her family have been living in Rwanda’s refugee camps for over a decade. After her father passed away, she says she feels the pressure more than ever to support her mother, 3 young brothers and her son who is 2 years old.
Despite this, Confiance explains that through her studies, she is improving her skills daily and is confident that she will get a job after completing her studies which will help support her family’s living conditions.
“I was extremely happy that I am able to put one brick on top of another and build a wall. This motivated me and realized that I will continue moving forward and become professional in construction,” she says.
And she is now eager to become an Engineer.
“Once I complete secondary school, I would like to continue with my higher education and become an Engineer. I like construction and that is where I am trying to lead my career,” she says. “My family will benefit as I will be the one supporting them with their daily needs, the income will mostly help me to raise my son.”
But her journey was not without its obstacles. From the skepticism of those around her to the physical toll of her studies, Confiance has had to face her challenges head-on. “I turned doubt into my strength. I work hard so that at the end I will show them that it is possible!” she says.
Based on her experience, Confiance encourages her fellow refugee girls who still think that it’s hard to embrace technical education.
“It is possible and what it requires is passion for what you are studying, which will allow to focus, concentrate, and pay attention to the teachers,” Confiance says. “I especially want to address our young sisters who are still in ordinary level to choose the technical combinations and join us, we shall support them along the way!”[Source : UNHCR Rwanda]. (End)