Huye’s Mukashyaka cuts a niche in computer repair, maintenance

While growing up, Janviere Mukashyaka’s dream was to enroll in a technical school and acquire the skills that would enable her create her own job.“Even though I was still young, I liked technical skills and committed myself to acquiring them,” Mukashyaka saysWhen she completed O-Level, Mukashyaka was admitted to Saint Kizito in Nyaruguru District for a construction course but preferred to pursue Computer science.“I had been admitted for construction but opted for computer sciences which was my passion,” she says.The 21-year-old resident of Huye says she has always worked hard to fulfill her dream.“I have always strived for the best. Even the skills I got from secondary school were enough to enable me start my own job,” says the third born in a family of four.“I knew the ICT option would enhance my skills and I was spot on. We had enough practicals and I became an ICT star at the college,” she proudly saysBecoming an ICT healerMukashyaka is currently doing internship at Rwanda Education Board where she is in charge of daily ICT issues. She is also the only female among over 10 students who were selected to participate in the refurbishment of government computers across the country.The refurbishment of government computers was an initiative of Tumba College of Technology in partnership with Rwanda Education Board (Reb).“I was the only female among those selected. We repaired the computers and they can now be used again,” she says“There is need to first identify the problem before putting the computer out of use by opening the Central processing Unit (CPU) and checking both internal and external parts,” she clarifies.She cited the Random access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), power supply, Processor, data and power cables among others as the the most commonly affected parts of the computer.“As a technician after identifying the problem, you look for a solution. It is always important to first check the Central Processing Unit because it is the main programme of the computer and in case it is not there, you restore it before embarking on any repairs,” she saysMukashyaka and her group have repaired close to 160 computers, which officials say has saved the government over Rwf50 million which would have been used to buy new ones.“Many computers had been discarded yet they had no serious problems. We refurbished them and now the owners are using them. I take pride for participating in such an exercise that directly benefits my community,” Mukashyaka says.Hope for employmentMukashyaka says the skills she has acquired will help her getemployment in either government or private institutions shortly after graduation.“But my main goal is to become a job creator. I am ready to create jobs so long as I get the means and I am optimistic this will be possible,” she says.She encourages more girls to embrace ICT as there is nothing hard in it.“In this era of women emancipation, there is need for my female compatriots to venture in areas like ICT which hitherto have been male dominated,” she saysOfficials from Reb and Tumba College of Technology have expressed commitment to help repair more computers to help government save more money.Dr Evode Mukama, the head of ICT department at Reb said:“By repairing computers that were not functioning, you helped government save a lot of money,” she said.The government in the recent past distributed over 100,000 computers to schools but some of them got minor damages and were stored. We will ask the government to give as more computers and we will continue to work with Tumba college to train more other technicians,” Mukama saidEng. Pascal Gatabazi, the principal of Tumba College of Technology said over 100 students and teachers have been trained in proper maintenance of computers.“What we do is to give back to the community which played a big role to make us who we are,” he said.Tumba College of technology offers practical oriented skills, technical advisory services and teachers’ training.

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Huye’s Mukashyaka cuts a niche in computer repair, maintenance