WINDHOEK – Saara Mweneni Ndeuyeeka (21), currently working as a site engineer and foreperson intern at the Etn Technical services, says her most desirable goal is to boost her self-confidence.
For her to be successful in the engineering industry, she needs the confidence to persist in the face of obstacles. The only female in the male dominated working environment at her company, Ndeuyeeka says although this was one of the challenges she faced at the beginning, she started loving her job, and for the fact that she was the only female at a site.
Describing herself a hardworking and dedicated young woman with a strong sense of prioritising and urgency, she says she is highly empathetic by nature and mostly embraces the ideas and opinions of others. “I developed a good habit over years and I credit my focus, diligence and a positive outlook on life,” she says.
Ndeuyeeka adds that she is doing internship at the Etn Technical Services in part fulfillment of the requirement for a Bachelor of Civil Engineering. For the past seven months, Ndeuyeeka have been working for Etn Technical services, which is constructing upmarket flats for Kalahari Holdings in Klein Windhoek. “It was really not easy getting a job, due to the country’s economic crisis, which led to most companies being unable to provide jobs for interns,” says Ndeuyeeka, adding that she has been job hunting knocking at the doors of more than 20 firms, and sending more than 40 emails to engineering firms all over, eventually getting internship at Etn.
She is in her final year at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust). “When I came to the varsity, I wanted to do Electrical Engineering but throughout my first year, I discovered my passion for civil designs and construction of buildings and other civil works which led me to choosing Civil Engineering as a profession,” explains Ndeuyeeka.
Born in Tsumeb, Ndeuyeeka moved to Onambome village in the Omusati Region to stay with her grandmother when she was a few months old. “Growing up as my grandmother’s favourite has made me a happy child. I used to perform very well academically and later in 2007, I moved to Ongwediva to stay with my father and his wife,” says Ndeuyeeka, adding that moving to Ongwediva, life has not been as easy as with her grandmother but that has not stopped her from being a kind and disciplined child. “When I moved to a new school, life was not easy for me because as a typical village girl, I could barely speak or understand English. I wasn’t comfortable around other learners because they used to tease and make fun of the way I spoke English, and some of the teachers used to make fun of me during classes,” says Ndeuyeeka, adding that this led her to perform poorly in school.
“It was very hard for me to cope and I didn’t have any friends. So I didn’t feel the need to go back to school anymore. A year later, I met Hedwig Kafula, a friend that always motivated me to be strong and to never give up on life. It was with her advice that I started reading more books and started computer classes to increase my English vocabulary and technology awareness. Later, I also joined the school netball team, started making friends which also boosted my academic performance and confidence.”
She adds that her mother has always been her motivation. “She never completed her education and she always says ‘I don’t want you to be like me, uneducated, I want you to study hard to have a future and this motive is mostly not for you to help me in the future, but to help yourself and look after your younger siblings should I wake up dead one day’. It is these words that serve as a motto in my studies.” She advises fellow youth that the future lies before them like a field of fallen snow. “Be careful how you treat it, for every step will show,” she signs off.