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As a One Student member, you’re part of a community of people who are creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to work for a brighter future. To celebrate this exciting work, we’ve created The Yearbook. At the end of every three-month term at the WAVS Schools, visit The Yearbook to see your impact up close.
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Highlights
Latest updates from the Fall 2020 term
These innovative units will be used in the Gabu region in various schools and hospitals to help in the fight against COVID-19.
WAVS school graduates help build hand washing stations
In Guinea-Bissau, schools were allowed to re-open in September. To protect the health of students, WAVS schools continue to enforce social distancing, masks, and hand-washing.
The schools also continue to work with community leaders to help in any way they can. Most recently, WAVS school welding graduates helped build 40 foot-pedal handwashing stations for UNICEF to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Abe, Canchungo campus Administration Assistant, opening the Fall 2020 student orientation with prayer.
The fall term saw the highest enrollment in years
The WAVS Canchungo campus was able to start its first full term since re-opening in September. A total of 99 students enrolled just in the first term of this school year, which is the most students who have enrolled in a single term in the last four years.
To help illustrate what it looks like to “guide” someone, and some of the various ways to do it, the teachers went through some fun exercises.
Investing in teachers at the WAVS schools
WAVS school teachers spend hours outside of the classroom preparing lessons and even meeting with students one-on-one. At the WAVS schools, it is important to not only invest in the students’ lives, but also into the teachers’ lives, as well. This is why the schools take time at the end of each term to do specific training with the staff.
This year, the focus was on meeting students where they’re at and guiding them through the process of understanding a topic. Not every student will always understand something easily, so the teachers were equipped with approaches to teaching students with different learning styles.
Around Campus
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The Canchungo campus had its highest enrollment yet for the welding program with 19 students enrolled.
Grills are one of the first practice projects that welding students make when they start their program. Students practice their new skills at measuring, bending metal, and simple welds. These grills are used to grill fish, chicken, or goat. The meat is placed between the heart-shaped grills and then placed on top of the traditional charcoal stove.
At the staff Christmas party, each person was given a gift of vegetables, oil, and canned goods so that they could use their money on other things such as gifts for their kids or meat for their Christmas dinner.
Students from CIFAP, another vocational training center, came to visit the WAVS school to check out the school’s welding program.
Behind the Scenes
The construction of the classroom building at the new Bissau campus continued and the trusses for the roof are now in place! A contract was also signed with a construction company to start building the boundary wall around the campus.
And, thanks to everyone who gave in December to help open the new campus, a container with computers, textbooks, chairs, and other materials is on its way to Guinea-Bissau to stock the classroom for opening.
Spotlight
Fernando
WAVS School Welding Intern
Meet Fernando
After completing a year of welding training at a WAVS Canchungo campus, Fernando was chosen to be a WAVS school welding intern.
Fernando says: “As an intern, I am still learning more things. Now that I have welding skills, I am learning more about customer relations, budgeting for projects, analyzing projects to know how to start the work. My dream is to take all the skills and knowledge I have learned and open my own welding shop to continue to support the people in Canchungo.”
Where are they now?
Read stories about WAVS Graduates.
Rosa: This high school student worked in a rock quarry so she could afford English classes. Now she’s a teacher.
I sat next to Rosa on the veranda of her family home – a home [...]
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Rumario: To provide for his ailing uncle and 8 others in his family, this young man became a welder.
How learning welding skills can provide for a whole family in West Africa Rumario started [...]
Read More
This is his story. Now it’s yours.
João has been welding since he was 8 years old. He enrolled in the WAVS [...]
Read MoreView Past Yearbooks
