Abubakar Ishimwe is one thousands of young boys and girls currently participating in HDAK's work readiness programs. Howerver Abu, as his fellow students call him, has a unique story. Unfortunately, Abu's father had long since abandoned his mother and him. With both of his parents absent, Abu was left to the mercy of the world by himself. He realized he had nobody to help him; hence, he was forced to defend for himself on the streets of Kigali. And then his mother passed away in 2006 when Abu was 13 years old.
Eight years after his mother passed away, Abu discovered the HDAK training where impoverished, unemployed or underemployed youth could gain skills leading to employment. The HDAK program provided him with hope when the rest of the world had marginalized him. He enrolled in the Work Ready Now and Be Your Own Boss soft skills training programs and proudly graduated in December 2018. Abubakar Ishimwe exclaimed,
“When I heard about the Work Read Now training program, I immediately seized the opportunity to move from the living in streets. And now, here I am with a completely transformed lifestyle!”
Despite having dropped out of school and never pursued any other formal training, Abu always dreamt of having a trade or job to rely on financially. Abu took the initiative and began volunteering his time at a carpentry shop. He developed a love for art and wood manufacturing. This newfound passion drove his desire to enroll in the technical carpentry training at CEFOTRAR, right after completing WRN!
Currently, Abu is renting a modest workshop in Nyamirambo, where he practices the skills he acquired in training. He has already started reaping the fruits of his hard work, which so far have granted him the capability to pay two months of rent in a house as well as rent his own carpentry workshop.
“As I went through the HDAK training programs, I became more and more confident that I would be able to find a new livelihood. The training I received encouraged me to start my proper carpentry workshop. My workshop enables me to pay my rent, cover all of my living expenses, and save for the future.”
Now that Abu is doing better, he wants to help others too. He is now using his skills and workshop to train six children from his neighborhood, whom he identified as either orphans or children with separated parents.