Dar es Salaam. While the noise of heavy printing machines, the smell of ink spreads to every corner of the factory, Kissa Kyamba stands at the side of the large plant, his eyes closely following the movement of the vessels that were publishing the pages faster.
20 years back when he crossed the gate of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) for the first time, he never thought he could stay in that work environment, being the only woman out of 25 employees.
“I never thought I could do this work all this time,” Kissa says and explained: “I learned, I accepted the challenge and today I am here.”
Recalling the first day he entered the factory, he says the courage to do the known work of men enabled him to do it effectively and was not a desperate person.
As the days passed, the months went by and slowly began to understand how the machinery was working. He asked questions, learned, and finally arrived where he was now.
“There was a time when I felt like I would be disappointed, especially when I faced challenges, but I was encouraging myself and moving forward,” narrates Kissa.
During his 20 years, Kissa has witnessed many changes from old technologies to modern machines.
His journey was not easy, but with diligence, discipline and perseverance, he has been able to not only be part of the industry, but also a role model for many women who wish to enter the works dominated by men.
He joined the MCL in 2004 after the establishment of a printing factory as an artist transferring work from a computer and printing it in a special plate to be installed in the factory for producing newspapers.
Kissa, a graduate of the Tabora Land College (ARITA) in the field of architecture, Arts and Publishing was selected to study the profession for two years after completing Kilakala Girls Secondary School in 1994.
He does the job unlike the dreams he had previously become a human doctor after finishing school.
“I wanted to study medicine, when I finished form four I got a third grade, I was told to wait for the second option. When I saw this I wrote a letter and sent the Ministry of Health to apply for a Bugando Health College. I was told to wait for a year to read the medical assistant, ”he says.
Still waiting for her mother who was working for the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury's office one day came home and came home with a newspaper and told her she had seen her name selected to study at Tabora Land College.
She says her mother encouraged her and told her she would be able to and if the government chose her it would be better to go at home all year.
“I did not make it difficult and I thought it best to read where I was elected, considering the home situation was not so good I decided to go at that time the mother made an effort to ask different people to know in detail the course, many advised her to be good,” she says.
Kissa explains at the time she didn't know what she was going to read, which made her ask more.
“I read for two years and finished. When I first finished I was employed a business Times, but in July 2004 I was employed in Citizen, ”he says.
Kissa says in the workout for the rest of the time he has been a person who does not allow despair as the journey is carrying mountains and valleys.
“There is a time when you wish to quit his job, but God gives you the encouragement that there is no place you live with no frustration, I do it,” he says.
The situation has been building him up and enabled him to learn how best to work with people, especially after realizing that everyone has their own thoughts and will.
Until the newspaper reaches your back, there are people behind it who are forced to spend more time achieving that.
Kissa is one of those who have times forced to stand for more than five consecutive hours without sitting, especially when production begins.
“When production begins it is common for a person to stand from 11:00 pm to 5:00 pm without sitting. If you enter the night here if it is a stand you will stop until the work is over, because you can't sit and then lead the machine you have to walk, use this machine when you go out and use another, ”he says.
However, that has not been a barrier to him as the work has now become his favorite from the heart and he does it with one heart.
Kissa a mother of two, at home most of the time spends on preparing her small business products.
She says she will not forget the pain of giving birth to her second child that started at work at night.
“At that time I had not started work in Citizen, it was Saturday in turns. Where we were also posting books, that day they told me your turn, so I went in. In the middle of the work the pain took me and I was taken to the hospital and gave birth, ”says Kissa.
He says the task of preparing a special tin for printing goes hand in hand with the four colors available in the relevant magazine namely Cyan (blue sea), majenta (red pink), yellow and black.
Being the only woman in the factory says there is a reflection of what was in their college, since there were 10 men and four women, but until they finished they were two.
That is after one of them failed and failed to continue their studies and the other left without full notice.
“In order to attract women in the industry is to encourage and strengthen them, there are children from Veta who came here to do practical training, when they found me happy, they couldn't believe if they would find a woman,” she says.
She says she used the opportunity to encourage them, explaining how work is being done so that they know that women can do those tasks as well as men.
Kissa says in life there is nothing difficult or easy that you can say this can but everything is decided.
“I would like to see many girls struggling in various fields without fear. If I could, then anyone could, ”he says.
He says if a person decides to do some work it is best not to put an obstacle to seeing that are difficult, instead to be interested and make sure he works well.
“Let's read, let's not run away from some professions as sometimes the brothers working alone give them loneliness. Mixing with boys brings some recovery, sisters like this work is good and opportunities are there, ”she says.
She wants women to work fully when they are given the opportunity to eliminate the idea that they cannot some things except men.
Eugen Collin, Kissa's job supervisor says that despite the fact that the only woman has been a dedicated person, she has always taken them straight in performance.
“She can't say this woman's work and this man so she can't do it. He has been quick to direct the ignorant when they need help, ”he says and adds:
“He is a person who does not want to be insulted, he has his own position that he does not want to be touched. Sometimes we wonder or because he is a woman. ”
