Houleye's Inspiring Journey
Houleye is a twenty-three (23)-year-old woman we meet at the garage where she is undergoing an internship as a mechanic. Her training with Caritas began in November 2022 for a fixed learning period of five (5) months.
Houleye had started her studies before the 2020 pandemic, but with classes being interrupted, she admits she did not regain the desire to return when schools reopened. She explains that it was thanks to her uncle, who regularly kept her informed about the training offered by Caritas or its partners, that she had the courage to submit her application. She then had the choice between hairdressing and mechanics, choosing the latter that had always interested her.
The young woman recounts that Caritas allowed her to learn the basics of the trade, such as opening an engine or gearbox, but it was especially the internship that truly allowed her to learn because it was much more concrete. However, Houleye specifies that even though she learned a lot with Caritas, she now wishes for support to open her own garage or at least acquire tools of her own to be able to do repairs outside the garage that employs her, on her own account.
Nevertheless, she is in a neighborhood with little communication, so few people know that she is a mechanic, and therefore, she does not find repair jobs outside of her garage. Being the only educated one, it is to her that her employer entrusts administrative tasks such as taking license plates when a client arrives. Houleye recounts that she is often stigmatized in what many still consider a 'man's job.' She is thus obliged to make way for her male colleagues to welcome clients in order not to lose them and pretend to assist them when in reality, she is helping them in their work.
Similarly, in the often crowded morning taxi, she is often criticized for her mechanic attire, but there are few times when someone does not come to her defense, 'she's a woman, she's working.' Fortunately, Houleye can count on her family's support in her career. She is determined and has no intention of abandoning her beloved job. Thanks to the training center, she says she has been able to 'learn things [she] never thought [she] would know' and that her dream was to repair a car, do roadside assistance, but she never thought she would achieve it.
Regarding the financial aspect, Houleye is remunerated equally with her colleagues for the earnings generated during the day by the garage.