Buba Saidykhan, a 31-year-old, who returned home to Farato, Bojang Kunda after a difficult journey, has made a difference in the field of recycling.
After overcoming a tough experience attempting to migrate to Italy, which included three dangerous trips across the Mediterranean Sea and spending eight months in a Libyan prison, he was determined to make a change.
He started a recycling business upon receiving support from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) after returning, and was able to reunite with his family and friends.
He named his business: Saidykhan Decoration Design and Skills Academy, where he teaches creatively and uses recycled materials to address environmental and social challenges. This has brought some immense change to the life of Bojang and the community he lived in.
Instead of feeling defeated by his past, Buba decided to focus on teaching skills that benefit and inspire others and reduce the reasons many young people take such risky journeys.
“At first, when I started collecting trash from different places, some people thought I had lost my mind but my talent and creativity later impressed many, leading me to establishing my academy to help local youth learn valuable skills and encourage them to stay home,” he explained.
Buba collects plastic waste and creatively transforms it into new, usable items. This provides him income and also helps protect the environment from pollution.
Faced with stigma and discrimination upon returning, Saidykhan chose to rise above the negativity. He says: “If you want to prove people wrong, let your success speak for itself.”
Despite his success, Saidykhan is faced with challenges of lack of funding and support, though his passion for contributing to community development drives him progressively.
Over time, he has successfully trained 17 young people in skills like painting and wallpaper installation, and encouraged each to train two more people before giving them certificates, to create a ripple effect in learning the trade.
Having skills in painting, catering, hospitality and recycling, Buba is dedicated to sharing his knowledge with others to improve their living standards and mitigate irregular migration. He urges the government to invest in skills training programmes to curtail the tide of irregular migration. He as well calls on journalists to engage in discussions that highlight the dangers of such risky journeys.
If every youth out there engage in something meaningful, the hardship In the country will minimize. This is indeed amazing. Any contact I can reach out to him with