Young, but married woman, Asana Yakubu, resident in the Kumbungu district of the North Region is finally living her dream of being in a trade she had long hoped to live by.
For Asana, being a tiller isn’t only a dream come true, but one that which guarantees her a secured livelihood, especially as more homeowners, landlords and even tenants now opt for interior and exterior floorings made from tiles.
Secondly, her dream that almost got shattered while learning the job from her late brother, has been re-ignited and the family’s “legacy” hasn’t been allowed to go with him to his grave.
More importantly for Asana Yakuba is venturing into the often referred to as “male dominated trades,” which has fate would have it, has embraced her warm heartily and with a determined attitude, she isn’t giving any room to chance or be left behind.
Originally from the Karaga District in the Northern Region, Asana relocated to Kumbungu District, when a man sought for her hand in marriage. She said as an adolescent growing up; floor tiling was a vocation she had dreamt about.
“I always learned a helping hand to my deceased elder brother who was a tiller and somewhat, I developed an interest for the job. I loved how he went about things and then said to myself ‘this is something I will be doing for myself in the future!’ I combined that with my schooling in Karaga,” Asana narrated to Diamond News.
“Suddenly however, I lost my tiller brother to death and having completed secondary school with no help in sight, I was constrained financially particularly with plans to furthering my education. Then, marriage resulted in my relocation from Karaga to Kumbungu.”
Thanks to an opportunity offered her by the Young Africa Works Program, a business startup run by CAMFED, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Asana said, she applied for tiling under the TVET component and luckily got selected.
“Not allowing that passion of becoming a tiller to die prematurely, I didn’t hesitate to step forward to be trained when I heard about the TVET programme. This is an area many either look down upon or considered it as a male dominated trade,” Asana recounted.
She thus became the only female who among males went through successful training at the Dabokpa Technical Institute, in Tamale. After intensive weeks of practical hands-on training in floor tiling, Asana graduated from the trades and was given a startup kit plus a certificate of participation which boldly welcome everyone into her living space.
“I am doing the job perfectly like the men. This is a challenge to many other females to also step forward by following on my example by willingly allowing themselves to learn or follow their passions so that they would become financially independent in the future,” Asana stated confidently.
Story By: Adisah Ibrahim
A Community Journalist in Kumbungu
