Immaculate Jack Of All Trades

By Elvis Tah

Her name is Immaculate Asambangni Mambi. She is ebony black, tall and slim and always chewing bubble gum.

Mambi bending rods

At 21, Mambi has been combining steel bending, welding, bricklaying and panel beating for close to three years. She is a workaholic, this Mambi, can be seen at most building construction sites in Buea, fully clad in her bleu long working coat, safety boots and a helmet.

This reporter was on the prowl when he met Mambi at a construction site in Great Soppo Buea, when she was bending iron rods. In a voice that sounded like pearls dropping on water, Mambi said she fell in love with the trades, which women mostly consider a reserve for men.

The young woman said she just loves bending iron rods, welding and the like.
A Cameroon OIC, Buea graduate, Mambi said she started landing contracts to bend iron rods while she was still at school.

She said she was admitted into COIC as a trainee welder in the Auto-body Department where she did panel beating, welding and spraying. "When we were in the Department, most of the trainees were boys and only five of us were girls. The boys constantly teased us but we endured it until we graduated."
Mambi demystified the belief that certain jobs are reserved for men because they require physical stamina.
"I think a woman can do anything that a man does because every job has its technique. All it takes is the will power to do what you want to do and besides, steel-bending doesn't require a lot of force, all you need is the technique and before you realise it, the iron rod is already bent," boasts Mambi.
On whether the job is lucrative, Mambi says, "there is a lot of money in this job. Any contract has its estimate and we are paid according to the enormity of the job. We have big contracts as well as small ones. There are big contracts for about FCFA 1.5 million while there are smaller ones for about FCFA 700,000."   
The least Mambi has ever received for steel-bending is FCFA 15000. As for being stigmatised for what she does, Mambi said most people encourage her though a few girls criticise and laugh at her.
"Most people congratulate me especially my father; he encourages me to keep up. My brothers, my friends mostly boys enjoy seeing me busy at my job side, save for some girls who find it rather strange to see a young girl bending iron rods. Some come and laugh at me calling me 'boygirl' and that it would render my hands rigid. But I told them that they should join me in the trade because it is not difficult; it is the same as anybody working in a hairdressing saloon. I don't have special hands meant for bending iron," says Mambi.
Concerning her exciting moments at work, Mambi says, "My most exciting moments is when I am on top of a storey building, bending iron rods and the worst moment is when I risk my life on top of storey buildings basking the sun or under the rain and more frustrating when the owner of the building begins to procrastinate in paying us."
On her professional experience, Mambi said on the first day she went for training, she was asked to weld a 'flat position', and the domain is usually associated by an ailment known as 'ache eye', caused as a result of looking at the welding blaze.
"When I got home, my eyes were hurting until I almost abandoned the course but my father encouraged me to carry on. I heeded to his advice and I am now used to it.
"I can weld without goggles and I won't have 'ache eye' because I now know how to protect my eyes. It is not at all times that we wear goggles because there might be a little thing that cannot be seen through them. You would need to use your naked eyes for it to be done properly. "
The Immaculate Jack-of-all-Trades says she does mostly steel-bending besides panel beating and spraying because it is more lucrative, "there are very few people doing steel-bending."
She, however, said there are times she resorts to panel beating, welding and spraying when she hasn't got a steel-bending contract.
With a penchant for not painting her fingernails or piling up make-up on her body to stay en vogue, Immaculate is proud that her guy has never complained about her being natural or shown disdain for her profession.
"Instead whenever he is passing and sees me working, he introduces me to his friends. He is planning to open a welding shop for me as a sign of encouragement." 
Mambi advises other girls especially those who abhor welding, panel beating or spraying to join her because it is like she is alone.
"Some people think we are mad, frustrated or we don't know what to do so they should come and make us feel that women are not left behind for the men to always be empowered."

Comments

[Brian]

More power to your elbows 'kido'.This is what embodies empowering women, rather than getting drunk on women's day!!
This is a good example of making technical education work in the Cameroonian context.How many girls your age are sitting at home compaining they have no jobs, or are on the streets prostituting themselves.
I think it is only in our beloved Cameroon that women sit back and laugh at their friends who are championing their cause.
I do commend The Post for publishing this article.Indeed I have been reading this paper online for over a year now,and while there have been interesting articles,this is the first wich has ellicited a contribution from me.
We need more of such experiences and stories to get Cameroonian youths out of the dependency syndrome they are confined to.
Kudos to the post.
Brian
Netherlands

[Big Joe]

Keep the spirit high and let nothing distract you.

[andre fokam]

This is great and inspiring.
real African woman as we like them. proud and hard working.

Andre Fokam

[tayong]

Hilarious
This is what the so called govt ought to encourage , harness and promote.This is what the newspapers should publish.This is what women organisation should focus on not "good sex for women" rubbish of Hon Rose Abunaw et co.

She's an example of the Cameroon we want.Both boys and girls should be encouraged to pursue careers in in lucrative careers like these.Vocational and technical education that has so far been relegated due to neo-colonial mentality be encoraged.

Hey,can this reporter help us get in touch with Immaculate? Her email please.

[felix]

This are the women we need to push the African continent forward.
Can I challenge all of you in this forum and especially those in the Diaspora to chip in some assistance be it financial or technical to assist this Lady established a Building firm of her own, so as to encourage others to follows.
We have been writing tons and tons in this forum, its time I belief we use this post medium and get in contact with this lady to assist her sees her Dreams Big times.

[Fon]

Immaculate, simply ignore those who are still ignorant.
In my city, about 45% of taxi and bus drivers are women. This will sound strange to women in Cameroon

[Fritzane Kiki HK]

Generally I don't see this very strange since only in African countries that girls are still lagging backwards with man-power jobs.In Cameroon there are no lady Taxi drivers,no lady truck drivers,no lady brick layer which has gone a long way to put more burden on the males.The old adage that what man can do woman can also do is really not important any longer since only lazy females will sleep and wait for her husband or boyfriends to buy X-mas dresses for her.

I hope when they(ladies)talk of equality then they should talk of every walks of life not only in competing with the husband at home by going out with many boyfriends as the man!!There should be a change of mentality amongst the females class.As for the peasants in the villages i give them credits but for those in bigger cites who turn to prostitution and illegal sex are bound to wait for tycoons to rent them houses and provide for them.

Fritzane Kiki
Hong Kong

[Bill]

Imma, Good job. Do not be discouraged. You are the kind of woman that men like and you are a leader. Congrats and keep up.