![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.kulika.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20241129_131235SuccessStoryYumbe2.jpg\")
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My name is Sakaya Magret. I am 19 years old and a South Sudanese refugee living in Zone 5, Village 20 in Bidibidi refugee settlement. Life has not been easy for me. I have two children, and we live with my grandmother. She is old and cannot support us much. My husband went back to South Sudan, so I had to be the one to provide for the family.<\/p>\n
Before Stromme Foundation and Kulika Uganda came into my life, I used to plait natural hair for women in the community. This was my only way of earning money. During the festive seasons, I would get many customers, and the income was better. But most of the year, business was very slow. Sometimes, I could barely make enough to buy food for my children. It was a very stressful time. I would think about the future and feel afraid because I did not know how I was going to raise my children or take care of my grandmother. Many nights, I went to bed worried about tomorrow.<\/p>\n
One day, community leaders came to our area and told us about a program called CVET. They said Stromme Foundation and Kulika Uganda were looking for young people to join and learn skills that could help them start businesses or get jobs. I knew immediately that I wanted to join. I registered my name and was accepted into the program. The first part of the training was life skills, which lasted three months. I knew I had to focus more than anyone else because of my situation at home. Every day, I listened carefully to the trainers and participated fully. These life skills helped me think positively, plan for my future, and believe in myself.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"DIT](\"http:\/\/www.kulika.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG-20250528-WA0070Yumbeee.jpg\")
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After the life skills training, we were told to choose a trade that was in high demand in the market. There were many options, but I chose tailoring. I have always admired people who make clothes, and I believed this skill could help me earn a stable income. The tailoring training covered both theory and practical lessons. I worked very hard to understand every step the trainer showed us. I would sometimes practice extra after class because I wanted to perfect my work. I was determined to succeed. After three months of training, we did our assessment with DIT. I was confident in what I had learned, but I did not want to just sit and wait for the results like many others. I knew I needed to start using my skills immediately to earn money.<\/p>\n
I decided to hire a sewing machine from a villager. The machine was not being used, so I paid 15,000 shillings per month to use it. This was not easy because it was money I could have used for food, but I saw it as an investment in my future. Slowly, I began getting customers. Some came for repairs, others for new clothes. I worked hard to please each one so they would tell others about me. Soon, I started making about 35,000 shillings profit per month. It may not sound like much to some people, but for me, it was a big change. With this money, I can now pay school fees for my two children. I can also buy basic needs for my family without depending on anyone. I feel proud that I can stand on my own and take care of my loved ones.<\/p>\n
My next goal is to expand my business and move it to the trading center, where I can get more customers. I also dream of owning my own sewing machine, so I don\u2019t have to pay rent for the one I use now. I have no regrets about choosing tailoring. It has given me a way to earn an income every day, not just during festive seasons. More importantly, it has given me hope and the confidence to plan for my future. I want to thank Stromme Foundation and Kulika Uganda for opening my eyes to see my potential. Without their training and encouragement, I would still be struggling with seasonal work and no clear plan for my life.<\/p>\n
I also encourage my fellow youth, especially those I trained with, not to just sit and wait for opportunities to come to them. We all have skills now \u2014 we must find ways to use them to earn a living and change our lives. For anyone who wishes to support my dream, I welcome you. Having my own sewing machine will help me grow my business faster and inspire more young people in my community to believe that they too can succeed.<\/p>\n
This is my story, a story of struggle, determination, and hope for a better future.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My name is Sakaya Magret. I am 19 years old and a South Sudanese refugee living in Zone 5, Village 20 in Bidibidi refugee settlement. Life has not been easy for me. I have two children, and we live with my grandmother. She is old and cannot support us much. My husband went back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-of-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3816"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3891,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3816\/revisions\/3891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kulika.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}