A Lilongwe-based automotive technician-cum entrepreneur, Gafelo Chimunkho, has opened doors to youthful aspiring automotive technicians to learn the trade from his garage.
Chimunkho, who owns Ebenezer Mechanical Engineering based in Mchesi township in Lilongwe, has told ProjectM in an interview that he has decided to introduce the initiative to support youths who can not manage to pay for formal training.
He said through the initiative, students who want to acquire practical knowledge in auto repairing, will have an opportunity to learn for free.
“As Ebenezer Mechanical Engineering, we have come up with this initiative to give back to the community which has been supporting us for a long time,” he said.
Chimunkho has since urged technical colleges, offering automotive lessons, to refer their students to his garage for practical knowledge.
“We know that other garages charge certain amounts of money just to train a student ranging from K80-K150 thousand, but we don’t want to do that here,” said Chimunkho.
He said processes are underway to strike an agreement with the Technical Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) to allow the garage accommodate more students.
“We want this initiative to be formalised quickly because currently, a lot of youths are just loitering around without any hope,” he added.
Under the same initiative, Chimunkho also wants to train youths technical skills, including bricklaying, welding and metal fabrication.
Nimo Posiano, a Lilongwe Technical College student, currently undergoing practical lessons at the garage, has thanked Chimunkho for roping him in.
“I had no money to pay for training in other garages, but Ebenezer Mechanical Engineering took me in and trained me,” said Posiano.
