Operating a bulldozer has always been my dream – Lyaka

“Perched up there atop the tractor is a woman. See her, with hands over her head! She is young rather appealing to the average masculine eye and quite the performer on that machine. So any time you pass by the turning to Uganda Christian University, Mukono Municipality, you will see more than a sizeable throng of a mostly male audience, watching this marvel manipulate the monstrous machine, and whatever else they think, heaven knows and hell doubts…” This is a ‘forwarded’ message I received one Saturday afternoon from my editor.

My first few attempts to locate this woman were futile. However, after a long search at different points within Mukono Municipality, a couple of people indicated that the only place I could find her was at Satellite Beach parking lot.

As I approach the parking lot, a navy blue Mark II Grande turns a corner. “May I help you?” a well-dressed woman asks. I quickly realise that she is the one I am looking for and we start a conversation. Juliet Lyaka, 30, starts by revealing that she has been operating a bull dozer for close to two years now.

“I am married with one child,” she says, before taking me through her operating experience. Lyaka says she joined Sogea Satom, a construction company, in 2015, as a site clerk, a job she executed until 2018 when she showed interest in operating the bulldozer.
“I had been inspired by another woman I had seen operating the same machine while working for SBI, a construction company that was at time undertaking a road construction project in Busia- Malaba,” she reveals.

At Sogea Satom, Lyaka says she would sneak into the parking lot and just sit behind the wheel of this machine admiring and wishing that one day she would be able to operate it. Three years after she joined Sogea Satom as a site clerk, the company started searching for someone who would operate a roller and Lyaka showed interest in the job.

“My superiors were amazed by my willingness to learn, especially on the job. I had to do the work despite the inadequate knowledge and skill,” she reveals adding, because of this, her bosses asked her to undergo a two weeks training. Lyaka was given a booklet with all the relevant information about the machine.

However, the guiding information did not call for a training conclusion, she had to be examined to prove her worth for that specific task. Her excellence in the theory part of the course pushed her to practical lessons which she also passed.

According to Lyaka, starting the machine was not hard since she already knew how to drive but the other operating buttons posed a challenge, especially on the first day. However, on the second day, Lyaka managed to operate the machine with extra ordinary skill in the presence of the supervisor thus the confirmation that she was ready to undertake the task.

The company processed her operating license thereby starting her operations officially at 28 years of age. Through perseverance, Lyaka has gained the expertise which her bosses say make her an extraordinary employee.

A day’s work
Lyaka works six days a week and she says she has succeeded due to proper planning. She is at work by 7am and leaves at 5pm. “Yes, I am always punctual but I never leave home without preparing my baby’s food and porridge,” she notes.
However, before they start on the day’s work, they hold a pre-start meeting on site at about 7.30am which focuses on knowing everyone’s task and identifying the likely challenges or hazards. Lyaka divulges that no meeting can ever be adjourned without suggesting possible solutions for the identified death-traps.

Preparation
Just as any good driver, Lyaka cannot start any operation before doing a pre-check to ensure there is enough oil and fuel, and whether the braking system among others is functioning normally.

This, she says, takes her about three minutes. She then switches on the engine for 15 minutes before starting her work of soil compaction and levelling.

“I am proud of what I do and because I am the only woman working with my company at the moment, I have turned into a tourist attraction of sorts. People always stop to look at what I do and wonder how I do it yet it is ‘supposed’ to be a man’s job,” she says.

Lyaka is also inspired by hard working women such as Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, who she says is one of her inspirations.

Lyaka and her colleagues are currently laying the DN1 4000mm pipes for the Katosi –Kampala Transmission Drinking Main project.
Challenges
It has not been a bed of roses for Lyaka, especially when onlookers and trailer drivers hoot as they pass by. She says it is a distraction yet she has to continue working.

According to Lyaka, many people including her fellow women mistake her for a ‘masculine woman’, which they say is unnatural. But of all trials she has faced during working, she gains courage to push on for her daughter for she wants the best for her.

Achievements
Lyaka says she has been able to open a hardware shop, whose proceeds greatly boost her income. Being able to build her dream house, taking care of herself and family are among the many achievements she happily talks about.
Future plansre plans
Lyaka’s dream is to become a plant manager and with time, own a plant from where construction companies hire machines. She eyes setting up a training institution aimed at skilling women with knowledge on how to operate heavy construction machinery.

Education
Although Lyaka earned certification in what she currently does, she professionally graduated in business administration.

Lyaka started at Busitema Nursery school and later joined Valley Hill Primary School in Kaliro where she completed PLE. She joined Busia Girls for three years and later St Claire Girls’ School in Budaka for her UCE certificate.

Because she could not continue to A level, Lyaka applied for a course at Uganda College of Commerce (UCC) in Tororo thus graduating with a certificate in Business Administration.

She upgraded at Makerere University Business School where she pursed a Diploma in Business Administration. She also pursued a one year course in ICT at Uganda Management Institute (UMI).

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