Captain Ashaba Faridah talking as a chief guest at Gulu University’s Career Expo/Courtesy photo
It was a warm afternoon in Gulu City—the kind of heat that makes your jumper feel heavier than when it’s cold. Beneath the sprawling tent at Gulu University’s sports ground, hundreds of learners sat in attentive silence, eyes fixed on a woman striding confidently to the podium. Clad in a crisp pilot’s uniform, her shoulders squared with purpose, Captain Ashaba Faridah carried the quiet pride of someone who had earned every stripe through sweat and sacrifice.
She smiled as she scanned the faces of students gathered for the 2025 Career Expo organized by FAWE Uganda and Gulu University. For Ashaba, this wasn’t just a motivational talk—it was a homecoming of sorts. In the eager, curious, and even distracted faces before her, she saw pieces of her younger self.
“Some of you here at campus think immediately after graduating, you’ll get an office job which may not be the case. Even the relative who is asking you to bring your CV is going to throw it in the dustbin. That is the reality of life,” she said candidly. The room shifted with mixed reactions—some nodding in agreement, others startled by the blunt truth. But Ashaba had their attention.
“The most important connections are the ones you build with yourself,” she continued, urging students to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and to be bold enough to create jobs when none are available—or keep one when they do land it. Ashaba’s story is stitched with grit. Raised by a single mother, she began selling snacks in her school canteen during secondary school. Later, during her piloting course, she sold second-hand clothes to help cover tuition.
“Another thing—if you’re looking for money, you should be shameless. You don’t have to despise jobs,” she said. Originally dreaming of becoming an interior designer, Ashaba’s path changed when her uncle suggested piloting. She couldn’t afford fees at Soroti Flying School, but after three relentless years, she secured a scholarship. That determination became the foundation of everything that followed. She encouraged learners to be flexible and open-minded, stressing that one’s source of income may not always align with their field of study.
“If all of you want to be employed, who is going to employ you? Become the people who create jobs. There are not many,” she challenged them. After completing her pilot training, Ashaba hit a wall—most employers demanded at least five years of experience. So she asked herself, “Am I going to sit at home forever and wait for my mother to give me money?”
From that crisis, Ashaba Flights was born. She saw a gap in the local aviation industry, especially for domestic flights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she reached out to people who owned idle planes and proposed a business idea. “My main focus was students and parents with children. I wanted them to be exposed,” she said. Despite early criticism—many dismissed her ideas as unrealistic—Ashaba pressed on, promoting flights online and documenting every journey. Since 2021, she’s flown over 200 passengers across Uganda.
Her goal is to one day own her own fleet. “People will not believe in your dream. When you get a vision, don’t tell everyone. They’ll discourage you because your dream will seem too big to them,” she warned. Ashaba also emphasized financial discipline. “Some of you, if you’re given 10 million shillings right now, after three days it’ll be gone. Because you’re not mentally ready for it.”
“For those of you who pray,” she added, “are you really ready for the thing you’re praying for? Are you ready for its capacity?” As CEO of Bambino Life Foundation, which equips girls with practical skills, Ashaba believes that backgrounds do not define destinies. “There is no pilot on my mother’s side. No pilot on my father’s side. And I am the firstborn. So there was no one to show me this path—I created the path.”
In a world where dreams often collide with harsh realities, Ashaba Faridah’s message rang clear: hustle with heart, stay grounded, and never wait for someone to hand you a yesterday.
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