ONGWEDIVA - The young Aune Ambunda rose through the ranks to become a foreman in the span of six months into her new job in the male-dominated industry and workshop at Mbungus Investment CC in the Ongwediva industrial area.

Ambunda (30), is the only woman amongst the eight mechanics at the workshop.

Giving an insight into how she landed the job as foreman, she smilingly said she believes that her boss was impressed with the work she was doing.

“When you know what you are doing and you pay attention to what you do and the boss is happy, why not? I finish my work on time, and I always do my work without supervision,” Ambunda stated.

In addition to her daily job to service and repair cars, her duty as foreman is to supervise her colleagues, and to ensure that vehicles are properly fixed before they are handed over to the owners.

She said she was never intimidated by men, or felt that they could do a better job than her.

“When we are at work, we are a team and whatever men can do, I can also do,” Ambunda said confidently.

Her dream is to become her own boss one day and provide employment to those joining the industry.

She said she does not want to ascribe to long working hours, and be subjected to be at work for the rest of her life.

“I also want to come to work on my time, but most importantly, I want to empower those joining the industry through job creation”. She thus encourages fellow young women to get out of their comfort zones and join the industry. No job is easy, but with the right mindset, one can achieve just about anything, she added. 

Being a mechanic has made her independent and strong to take up anything as she works with lifting heavy weights daily. “Don’t sit at home if there are opportunities knocking on your door. I also wanted to become a teacher, but look where I am now. I can provide and put food on the table for my family,” beamed Ambunda.

Apart from going to work daily, there is a chance to make an extra income during off hours and over weekends.

Furthermore, what fascinates her most about her job is to work on engines.

“Things like the servicing of cars is not for me anymore; that is something for someone who is just joining the industry. I love the engine overhauls,” she continued.

Born and bred at Uukwangula village, a few kilometres outside Oshakati, like many children her age, she grew up doing household chores.  From a young age, she did the perceived male chores like herding goats, as it was just her and her godmother most of the time. Ambunda was raised by her aunt, who doubles as her godmother. 

“Being the only child at home, I did just about anything to assist my mother with work at home,” she stated. On the school front, Ambunda trekked about 2km daily to school to Ekamba, and later went to the Nehale Secondary School in Oshikoto. Growing up, she always wanted to be a teacher, but her grade 12 results did not allow her to pursue her dream. After completing grade 12, she enrolled with the Namibian College of Open Learning to improve her results.

One year later, Ambunda decided to enrol for vocational trades and was admitted at the Rundu Vocational Training Centre, where she did automotive mechanic studies.

She narrates that automotive mechanic studies was not her first choice as she wanted to do electronics, but there was no space.

“But as soon as I started, I fell in love with the course, and I don’t regret being here today,” she noted. Her road to becoming a mechanic was not plain sailing, as she had to drop out of school for a year when she fell pregnant.

Determined to provide for her child and family, Ambunda came back stronger, and left her six-month-old baby with her godmother in order to finish what she started.

She is proud of who she has become, especially that she has made a name for herself in the male-dominated industry.

Despite her daily success stories of seeing clients walking away happy because of her work, Ambunda said she has also received her fair share of discrimination from both men and women.

“Sometimes, customers don’t believe that a young woman like me can fix their cars. They thus often walk into the workshop and pass me by to narrate their car problems to the male colleagues, but are usually send back to speak to me,” she narrated. Before she joined Mbungus last January, she was employed at Bauman and Meier in Windhoek, where they specialise in BMWs.

At Mbungus, they work on all sorts of cars, including heavy machinery.    

Mbungus owner Jason Namutuwa opened his workshop four years ago with one employee, zero clients and was operating from a tiny space. But as the business expanded, he moved to a bigger place on the same
premises. After being in the field for a number of years, he wanted to be his own boss, leading to him resigning from his previous job.

He used his pension to start his company, but said it was not easy as he had to pay rent for at least five months without generating any income. “The beginning was very tough; it was not easy. I started with zero customers and one employee,” said Namutuwa.

Today, he has eight employees, of whom two are doing internships.                                                              

On employing women and particularly a female foreman, Namutuwa said although he believes in empowering those looked down upon in the industry, he is confident that Ambunda has the requisite skills for her job.

“She is really good. She does everything, being engine overhauls, servicing of vehicles and tackling heavy equipment, especially the caterpillars, JCBs and hydraulic systems,” he added.