The aviation world like any other male-dominated field has placed women at the unfavorable end of the equation where she is mandated to work twice as hard just to get their well-deserved recognition.
Defying the odds to proudly take a seat as one of the few women pilots in the eastern African country of Uganda is commercial pilot, Ashaba Faridah. She is also CEO of Bambino Life Foundation.
Bambino Life Foundation focuses on promoting girl child education and empowerment, as well as creating awareness about children with disabilities.
Ashaba’s inspiring story has been featured across numerous media outlets internationally from New York, Sydney, London, Ghana, Nigeria, Canada, Caribbean, Scotland, etc.
From humble beginnings in the outskirts of Kampala city, Uganda, Ashaba found her passion during childhood and fought against the odds to achieve her dream of becoming a pilot, now she is avidly passionate about the empowerment of the girl child, urging them to look beyond circumstance, believe in themselves and chase after their dreams.
Apart from being CEO of Bambino Life Foundation, driven by self-awareness and the importance of merging the divide against females in STEM, in 2018, she took up the position as Director of STEM Queens Uganda to foster inclusivity, empowering young girls mentally to take up STEM roles in future.
Ashaba Faridah is also Chair of the Global Goodwill Ambassadors in Uganda.
“My greatest achievement was starting up Bambino Life Foundation, a foundation that promotes girl child education and empowerment among other things. For me the ultimate greatest achievement is knowing I can inspire young girls out there to believe in themselves and break the stereotypes, Another achievement is being part of the STEM Queens project, an initiative that encourages and supports young girls into joining and participating in the African STEM economy.”
On advice to budding women in STEM:
“To believe in themselves but above all to never forget who they are and where they come from. Once you know this, your path will be clear on where you want to go or in being whoever you want to be. It goes without saying that without God we are absolutely nothing, so put him first and everything will come by easily.”
In furtherance of her vision for a more empowered world, she have her first TEDx in Kigali in 2019, hosted by the European Union. A recognized international and motivational speaker, she has spoken on different international platforms across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
Her impact and success have well deservedly garnered her several accolades including being selected to be 1 of the 9 women innovators to represent the UN women’s “Impossible to Ignore” campaign that launched the she innovates global program on international womens’ day 2019, as well as in 2020 named among the Top 40 outstanding people in Uganda under 40 years of age by New vision, a national newspaper.
Ashaba Faridah is also an alumnus at The Bridge Water State University under the leadership in public management course through the Mandela Washington Fellowship program.
