I want to help
young girls learn a trade – Lady mechanic
By PHILIP NWOSU
Monday, February
20, 2006
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Sandra Aguebor-Edokpayi
Photo: The Sun News Publishing |
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She is determined to get young girls off the streets and
prepare them for useful purposes. To achieve this, this energetic
woman would be launching a new scheme to ensure that youths
in Nigeria are engaged meaningfully for the good of the society.
Mrs. Sandra Aguebor-Eokpayi, the Chief Executive Officer of
the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI) said that the establishment
of LMI was borne out of the desire to ensure that young-girls
participate actively in programmes that are meaningful to
the society.
For instance, she explains that young girls who engage in
prostitution do so, when they believe that all hopes are lost
and that the only way of survival is to market their bodies.
In the next few weeks, the Lady Mechanic Initiative would
be launching a road show in hunt of girls in Ajegunle, Mushin
and other areas of Lagos. The project would introduce them
to the initiative and teach them how to repair vehicles.
Background
For the benefit of some of you who are not too familiar with
LMI, let me start by telling you how this dream started. It
all started more than 20 years ago when I was in secondary
school in Edo State. I heard God telling me in a dream that
I should go and acquire skills in auto-mechanic repairs and
maintenance technology, a male dominated profession at that
time. When I told my father about it, he decided to enroll
me at a roadside mechanic workshop. I encountered all sorts
of criticism that would have discouraged me if not for my
conviction that I can do it, and this is my message to the
youths of this country and Africa at large. They can do it,
no matter the circumstances they found themselves; they should
put up this positive attitude that has made me what I am today.
I gained admission into Benin Technical College where I obtained
my City and Guilds of London certificate in auto-mechanic
repairs and maintenance technology and also my Ordinary National
Diploma in auto engineering from Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State.
After my graduation from Auchi Polytechnic, I worked with
Bendel Transport Service as repairs and maintenance officer
and Nigeria Railway Corporation for three years, after which
I came to Lagos to start Sandex Auto Care Garage. During the
course of this mechanic work, I was sponsored by the United
States Government to go to America network to share experiences
and learn from what women mechanics and others are doing in
the United State of America.
Lady Mechanic Initiative
The Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI) is an offshoot of Sandex
Car Care Garage which was established to promote sustainable
positive change in the socio-economic circumstances of the
poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria through its free apprenticeship
programme. Lady Mechanic Initiative is committed to teaching
useful trades to the poor and vulnerable members of the society
such as orphans and vulnerable children, street children,
refugees, widowed women, ex-convicts, out-of-school youths,
deportee sex workers and others in such circumstances to enable
them start their own small business.
Initially, we focused on the girl child only but today we
are also including males in our training. Our auto mechanic
training is in all types of automobiles, motorbikes, household
and industrial generators, air-conditioners, refrigerators,
household water pumping machine and motor panel work. We also
provide periodic automobile repairs, maintenance and technical
education and daily maintenance tips to drivers and car owners
as well as carrying out physical repairs and maintenance of
all types of automobiles, motorbikes, household and industrial
generators, air conditioners, refrigerators, household water
pumping machine among others.
I know that one question that comes to mind now is why the
Lady Mechanic Initiative? The answer is simple. LMI is committed
to entrepreneurial skill building as a panacea for Nigeria
and indeed, Africa’s development. To this end, we mobilise
broad spectrum of the poor and vulnerable people and groups,
especially people in hard to reach communities to take positive
action that results in sustainable improvement in their well-being
as well as facilitate their reintegration into the mainstream
society.
Apprenticeship programmes
So, through its apprenticeship programme, Lady Mechanic Initiative
teaches useful trades to the poor and vulnerable members of
the society such as orphans and vulnerable children, street
children, refugees and widows, empower them with vocational
skills training in auto mechanic, motorbike, generator, air
conditioners, refrigerators repairs, maintenance technology
and motor panel work. LMI carries out periodic motivational
talk and campaign in resource poor communities, ghettos, hotels
and brothels, along the street of poor communities such as
Ajegunle, Mushin, Oshodi, Isale Eko, Ipaja and others to recruit
young boys and girls. We also provide them with accommodation,
feeding and transport allowance to enable them learn auto-mechanic,
panel beating, household and industrial generators repairs
and maintenance in our auto garage.
While others interested in refrigerators, hairdressing, tailoring,
photography/video recording are placed in established shops/small
scale business as apprentice. We believe that at the end of
the skills and capacity development, the youths will be able
to start their own small scale businesses, which will free
them from the evils of wants and enable them to also help
to train others.
LMI also provide the trainees and apprentice undergoing various
vocational skill training with technical and logistic support
to enable them form Self Help Group (SHG) that serves as an
avenue for them to meet regularly to discuss issues that impact
their life, share their common challenges and ideas about
how to solve their common concerns.
On March 17, 2006, the LMI will be graduating more than 10
girls and boys who have successfully completed their training
in auto mechanic in our garage in Lagos and have also successfully
completed one month industrial attachment training in vehicle
assembling technology at PAN, Kaduna. We are also doing induction
for our new intakes into our various training programmes on
that day. And we are relying on the sponsorship of MTN and
other companies, philanthropists and well meaning Nigerians
to enable us extend our programmes to other states of the
federation. We have started discussing this with some organisations
and we are positive that very soon you will start seeing our
work in other states of Nigeria.
There are so many of our young people that have been out-of-school
for over three years or even more attempting to pass JAMB
and gain entry into the university to no avail. We are encouraging
them to come and learn a trade. It is not only by going into
the university alone that one can make it in life. One can
learn a trade and when you are very good at it, even graduates
will work for you. So, sitting at home for over three years
waiting to pass JAMB is not the best. Imagine what level of
training and skill one would have acquired for three years.
The developed countries are so today because of the fact that
people in those countries acquired the skills that enabled
them set up small-scale businesses. Even development experts
have always emphasised the fact that small-scale business
is the bedrock of development. So, let us take the bull by
the horns and start learning a trade today it is never too
late.
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