It was a warm afternoon in Gulu city, the kind of heat that makes your jumper feel heavier than when it’s cold.
Under a sprawling white tent at Gulu University’s sports grounds, hundreds of students sat in rapt attention, their eyes fixed on a woman confidently approaching the podium. Dressed in a crisp pilot’s uniform, shoulders squared with quiet authority, Captain Ashaba Faridah exuded the kind of presence only earned through persistence and grit.
She was there to speak at the 2025 Career Expo, organized by FAWE Uganda and Gulu University, but for Ashaba, this was more than a motivational talk. It was a kind of homecoming.
In the sea of curious, hopeful, and occasionally distracted faces, she saw glimpses of her younger self.
“Some of you here at campus think that immediately after graduating, you’ll land an office job. That may not be the case,” she began candidly. “Even that relative asking for your CV might throw it in the dustbin. That’s the reality.”
A murmur swept through the crowd, some students nodding in agreement, others surprised by the blunt truth. But Ashaba had their attention.
“The most important connections are the ones you build with yourself,” she continued. “Know your strengths, your weaknesses, and be bold enough to create jobs when none exist or to keep one when you finally get it.”
Her own story was stitched with struggle and resilience. Raised by a single mother, she sold snacks in her school canteen while still in secondary school. Later, while pursuing a piloting course, she juggled studies and business – selling second-hand clothes to fund her tuition.
“If you’re looking for money, you have to be shameless,” she said. “Don’t despise any job.” Though she originally aspired to be an interior designer, her trajectory changed when her uncle suggested aviation.
She couldn’t afford the fees at Soroti Flying School, but after three relentless years of trying, she secured a scholarship. That determination laid the foundation for everything that followed.
She urged students to be flexible and open-minded, reminding them that their career path may not always match 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.
After completing her pilot training, she faced yet another hurdle: most airlines required at least five years of experience. Faced with rejection, she asked herself, “Am I going to sit at home forever and wait for my mother to give me money?”
Out of that question, Ashaba Flights was born. She saw a gap in the local aviation sector—especially in domestic travel. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she contacted aircraft owners with idle planes and pitched a business idea.
“My main focus was students and parents with children. I wanted them to be exposed,” she said.
Despite early critics who dismissed her ideas as unrealistic, she pushed forward—promoting her flights online and documenting each journey. Since 2021, she’s flown over 200 passengers across Uganda. Her long-term goal? To 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 and readiness.
“Some of you, if you’re given Shs 10 million right now, after three days it’ll be gone. Because you’re not mentally ready for it,” she said.
“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 the Bambino Life Foundation, which equips girls with practical life skills, Ashaba reminded the students that their backgrounds do not define their destinies.
“There’s no pilot on my mother’s side. None on my father’s side. I’m the firstborn. There was no one to show me this path, I created the path.”
In a world where dreams often collide with cold realities, Captain Ashaba Faridah left the students of Gulu with a message both sobering and empowering: Hustle with heart. Stay grounded. And never wait for someone to hand you a yesterday.
It was really nice meeting a young female pilot
It was really nice