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Kenya: Meet Women Upgrading Roads Using Heavy Construction Machines

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4 years ago

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Kakamega — When Ruth Majimbo disclosed to her father the desire to pursue a career in driving heavy trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, he was skeptical.

Willy Ndiwa Kapkara who stays in Trans Nzoia knew that his daughter would not make it as such careers were a reserve of men.

He tried to change the mindset of his daughter to seek alternative careers but to no avail.

Majimbo was ready to offer men a challenge and change the status quo.

Determined, Majimbo, now 34, enrolled for a driving course at the Kenya Institute of Highways and Building Technology that was back in 2015.

Although her dream was to drive heavy duty vehicles, she says she is satisfied to have trained and ended up operating a motor grader.

On a daily routine, Majimbo spends her days on road construction sites.

If that could not be the case, today she will be crossing borders delivering goods to other countries using trucks.

“While still young I was interested in driving as a career and my aim was to drive heavy duty vehicles. But I think God planned for me to operate road construction machines, When I told my father he said the work is for men I won’t make it,” she says.

Majimbo says despite the fact that her father was hesitant at first, he left her to pursue the career after noticing she was not going to look back.

Now her father has accepted and together with her mother Lucy Chebet Andrea, keep encouraging her and praying for her to succeed in whatever she does.

The motor grader is believed to be driven by men only. She says most believe that women can only make it in driving Rollers and excavators, but she is determined to work hard and make it.

“In this field, we have many machines like the Rollers, excavators which many believe can be operated by women. Motor grader became the hardest job that many people shy away from including some men, only a few took the task while most women shied from it,” she explained.

She says after finishing her training in May 2015, she secured industrial attachment on the Kitale-Webuye road which was being constructed by the Zhongmei Engineering Construction company. She says the company mentored her with proper skills to succeed in the career.

After the industrial attachment, she got placed at another Chinese company which was constructing the Iten-Nyaru road.

Majimbo noted that the job has got its share of challenges especially because the majority of the workers are men, a reason why she calls for other women to train to operate the road construction machines as she promises to mentor as many as possible.

Currently she works with Tai Enterprises Company that is constructing the Mumias-Musanda 16 Kilometer Road. She joined the company in 2018.

She says that whatever she earns is enough to feed her family and take care of her needs. Her husband also accepted and allowed her to work despite the fact that she travels a lot working in different places.

“I urge the president to continue opening up opportunities in the informal sector since the majority of youth have now trained in polytechnics hence, they have the skills. Opening up opportunities will employ the majority of them,” she noted.

For one to succeed as a motor grader operator, she says, they need to be sober minded, avoid drinking alcohol, understand oneself and rely on God.

Until now, Majimbo has mentored three other girls, two are working in Lodwar while her other student is working in Busia with different construction companies.

About 30 miles from her working site, we get another 30-year-old woman, Maryann Nafula Simiyu who is not shy from operating a roller.

The mother of two, works as a plant operator with Thelmax International Company that is constructing Sango-Mawe Tatu road in Kakamega county.

She also trained at Kenya Institute of Highways and Building Technology (KIHBT) in Ngong Nairobi, by then there were only three women out of 120 students in her class .

She says this is her seventh year since she started working, having worked with various companies and travelled through different places.