Category Archives: Graduate Stories

Dalton’s Journey of Faith and Becoming a Welding Instructor

Photograph of Dalton Da Silva

A Difficult Childhood Dalton Da Silva was forced to grow up quickly. As a young boy, his parents separated. His mom and baby sister moved out, and they had no one to care for them. Concerned for their survival, Dalton gathered dried grass and carefully tied it together to make traditional sweeping brooms. He sold […]

From Students to to Business Owners: How Learning Welding Transformed Ivanildo and Vanov’s Future

Welding entrepreneurs, Ivanildo and Vanov.

What happens when someone living in poverty is given the chance to learn a new job skill? Just ask Ivanildo and Vanov. They met last year while studying welding in the same class at a WAVS vocational school in Guinea-Bissau, a tiny country in West Africa. They discovered that they worked well together. In fact, […]

This WAVS graduate surprised his employer. Here’s how.

Welding graduate Augusto from Guinea-Bissau adjusts a drill press in a workshop.

From Learning to Leading: Augusto’s Journey Augusto is a young man living in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, who grew up seeing a welder in action – his father. Even though his father had no formal training, he earned a meager income as a self-employed welder.  Augusto idolized his father’s profession and dreamed of following in his […]

The odds were against Cirilo. He found a way to overcome them.

He grew up in one of the world’s poorest countries. As a child, he nearly died from malaria. But this dad found a way to work for a brighter future. Cirilo was born in Guinea-Bissau, a country where most people earn less than $2 a day. As a child, he suffered from severe malaria and […]

To finish university, Rukas first needs to become a welder

Rukas Welding Student in West Africa

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of our welding students since moving to Guinea-Bissau earlier this year. One thing I have discovered is that many of those students have already studied at other schools or universities in the past. But in a country with few salaried jobs available, their education hasn’t been enough […]

How computer skills can help people in West Africa

Iano and Alassana spend their morning in computer literacy classes at a WAVS vocational school in West Africa. After their class, they both walk down the street to a local high school. They travel there for different purposes: one to attend and the other to teach. But they both need to learn how to use […]

8 facts about computer literacy and technology in West Africa

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In Guinea-Bissau (one of smallest and poorest countries in West Africa), access to clean water is hard to come by – let alone access to technology. Here are 8 facts about computer literacy and technology in West Africa – and what we can do to help. Facts about technology access 1. Only 23% of the […]

Four examples of how vocational schools use practical job skills training to help young people in West Africa

West African Vocational Schools has equipped more than 1,400 young people with life-changing job skills through practical training programs at locally-led vocational schools. After completing their courses, more than three out of four graduates find employment, start their own business, or continue with their studies. And most of them see a significant increase in their […]

‘None of us are professors, secretaries or doctors – but I thank God for the profession he’s given us.’

Cirilo welding student at WAVS Vocational School in West Africa

Cirilo grew up in a country where most people live on less than $2 a day. As a kid, he dreamed about becoming a doctor or lawyer. With a career like that, he thought, he’d leave his life of poverty behind. Now as an adult, Cirilo shows up to work every day ready to direct […]

How vocational training helped this welder grow his business in West Africa

Ciro (right) and his former apprentice, Nilton (left), smile as they show off their welding workshop in West Africa. Ciro attended the WAVS Vocational School so he could grow his business and provide for four orphaned children. For years, Ciro Gomes earned a meager living as an auto body repairman — patching up old cars […]