At the Ruzo Trades Education Center, we meet Violette Bigirimana and Elisabeth Ndihokubwayo. These two young women, from this province, are training in the welding profession. A profession which is almost non-existent in their locality and which Burundian society generally considers to be reserved exclusively for men. For these two girls, it’s a story of passion. They share their adventure with us.
Despite the challenges, these two young women have no intention of giving up the welding professionre.
“In today’s world, there are no longer any professions exclusively reserved for boys or girls,” says Elizabeth Ndihokubwayo, 22 years old. She trained in the welding profession at the Ruzo Trades Education Center in the commune of Giteranyi, in the province of Muyinga. “When I came to enroll in this career learning center, I first asked the director to introduce me to the different courses available. I was very happy to learn that welding is taught here,” she says. After enrolling, she spent the first week in class being the only girl learning welding. “That didn’t discourage me at all. Fortunately, another girl joined me the following week,” she adds.
This other girl was Violette Bigirimana, aged 22. Last September, she heard that a welding sector would be set up at the Ruzo Trades Education Center. This news made her very happy. “I chose this profession because it is almost non-existent in our locality. The welders around me limit themselves to basic tasks. There are no welders here who can make large pieces of furniture such as doors, windows, etc. “, she explains.
A thorny path
As these future welders tell it, this adventure was strewn with pitfalls. They tell us that they suffered a lot of discouragement from those around them. “Sometimes, people discourage me by telling me that this job will not help me in anything, because it is not practiced in my surroundings due to the lack of electricity. And I often tell them that even if I cannot practice it here, I can go and practice it elsewhere,” explains Miss Ndihokubwayo.
“Welders are sometimes unfairly accused of delinquency by society. These are the prejudices that some people use to discourage me. But since I came to learn this profession of my own will, it does not discourage me at all,” says Miss Bigirimana. Despite these challenges, these two young women have no intention of giving up the welding profession. On the contrary, they dream of moving forward in their profession and creating their own jobs.
They are demanding that there be more trades education centers in their locality. “Sometimes it’s not easy for a girl to ask a welder she knows to teach her this trade. But when she manages to learn it in a center like this, it becomes easier,” assures Bigirimana.
To other girls who believe that this profession is reserved exclusively for boys, “I would tell them that in today’s world, there are no longer exclusively masculine or feminine professions. I call on other girls to come and enroll massively in this sector,” she concludes.
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