Ugandans benefit from vocational training

Courses contribute to development of skills in Entebbe

Henry Senyonga, a Ugandan small business owner, has turned his business fortunes around thanks to the vocational training he received in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Senyonga used to sell mobile phones, but said sales were struggling before his trip to Wuhan.

In 2018, together with 19 other students from Entebbe, Uganda, he had a month of vocational education training at Wuhan City Polytechnic.

Inspired by the training, he decided to offer mobile phone and computer repair services in his store on his return to Entebbe.

"Many people in Uganda prefer purchasing secondhand phones due to their affordability," he said.

"However, these products often come with issues, which is why my repair business has thrived."

With the skills he acquired in Wuhan, he was able to provide reliable repair services, attracting customers seeking affordable and trustworthy solutions.

Wuhan and Entebbe became friendly exchange cities in 2014. In 2015, the two cities signed a vocational education cooperation agreement.

From 2016 to 2019, Wuhan City Polytechnic ran a project offering educational assistance to Entebbe. The training covered various fields, including tourism services, automotive repair, early childhood education, internet technology, aquaculture, carpentry and mushroom cultivation.

Sources at the polytechnic said the program trained more than 110 people, from Entebbe government officials to members of industry associations, business executives, university teachers and students.

After returning home, they passed on their vocational skills to others, helping them find jobs and improve local residents' livelihoods.

Senyonga said one of the greatest rewards of his trip to Wuhan was the friendship he formed with his teacher and kindred spirit, He Mengtian.

Their shared passion for tinkering with electronic devices brought Senyonga and He closer together.

After Senyonga returned to Uganda, they stayed in touch through social media and He often gave Senyonga guidance on technical issues related to electronic products.

As Senyonga's business flourished, he decided to give back to the community by providing free computer and mobile phone repair skills training to nearby residents.

He has mentored over 50 apprentices, and his efforts have transformed the lives of some of them.

One inspiring story is that of Kazibwe Benard. During his high school years, Benard lost both his parents, which forced him to drop out of school and rely on fishing for a living.

His life took a turn when he encountered Senyonga, who was providing free classes to fishermen in his neighborhood.

Benard now runs his own mobile phone repair shop. "My life has been rewritten. I can earn at least 20,000 Ugandan shillings (approximately $5.3) a day," Benard said.

Janet Nansubuga and John Kakuru are two other students who have made big contributions to their communities after completing training in Wuhan, where they studied in 2016. Nansubuga, who learned mushroom cultivation skills, successfully promoted the technique and established a cooperative society.

She has led over 80 households in Entebbe to start growing mushrooms, providing people with fresh, locally produced mushrooms. Kakuru used his training in fisheries to design and construct a fish nursery at a training school in Entebbe.

He then shared his expertise with over 300 fishermen, helping them improve their yields and increase their incomes.

The impact of the Wuhan training program has not gone unnoticed by officials in Entebbe.

Following a three-year hiatus due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rulinda Fabrice Brad, the mayor of Entebbe, attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 career education program in Wuhan early last month.

Addressing the 22 new students, he urged them to make the most of their opportunity to study in Wuhan and take their acquired knowledge back to Uganda to benefit others.

In May 2019, Wuhan City Polytechnic set up a training center in Uganda to carry out Chinese language training. "The students have been diligent and eager to learn," said Zhou Chuan, a Chinese teacher from the polytechnic who went to Uganda for Chinese language training in 2019 and this year.

"The recent cohorts of students can utilize smartphones to record videos and audio during classes, actively practice outside of class, and seek guidance from their instructors through WeChat," she said.

Zhou witnesses their progress on a daily basis and highlights the positive impact previous students have made in various industries in Uganda, with some becoming industry experts, others teaching the skills they learned in China, and a few even starting their own businesses.