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Highlights

Latest updates from Fall 2023 

 

WAVS school staff with their famiiles

The annual Christmas party isn’t just for staff – it’s for their families as well!”

Staff enjoyed a Christmas celebration together

Each Christmas, WAVS vocational school staff and their families gather together to celebrate with a party. As Christmas gifts, they receive a groceries that are often used to host their own Christmas gathering for family and friends at home.

 
Mario with Creole Bible

Mario, an English teacher, shows off one of the new Bibles.

Bissau campus receives Creole Bibles

The Bissau campus received 100 new Creole Bibles thanks to a generous donor. These Bibles can be used by students during devotionals. Students are thankful to have access to Bibles in their own everyday language.

Mario with Creole Bible

Mario, an English teacher, shows off one of the new Bibles.

Several young professionals from the job fair enrolled as English students this term.

School staff reach out to new students at a local job fair

School staff are always working to get the word out to prospective students. In the fall, staff attended a local job fair and hosted a booth to share information about the courses offered at the WAVS vocational schools.

Around Campus

 

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Bring a friend to school day! This term, students were invited to bring a friend to class. Several guests have already registered for future terms after witnessing the courses at the WAVS schools!

security wall being built around Bissau campus

Construction continues on the security wall around the campus. The wall will be over a mile long once complete.

IT classroom at the WAVS vocational school in Guinea Bissau

The Bissau campus opened a second computer lab to help accommodate the growing number of students enrolling in the computer literacy program.

 

Part of the staff Christmas party is getting to share a meal all together. 

Behind the Scenes

WAVS school staff sing together at their Christmas party

 The Christmas party started off with a time of worship. In this video, staff are singing of “The Beauty of God.”

 

Spotlight

Mamadu “Djulde” Dja

Mamadu “Djulde” Dja

WAVS Welding Intern

Meet Mamadu “Djulde” Dja

Every year, two high-preforming welding students are given the opportunity to complete an internship at the WAVS vocational school the following year. This year, Mamadu “Djulde” Dja was one of the former students selected for the internship.

Interns support instructors in class by training students, and also help with producing welding products that are sold to the community to help support the school. After completing their internship, interns are awarded a starter kit with essential welding and metalwork tools to help them start their own business.

Mamadu had this to say about the welding course: “At first, I saw it as a difficult course. Whenever I would see the things we would do, I would say, ‘Yeah, this is a difficult thing to do.’ But now that I’m doing it, I know that nothing is difficult if I really want to do it!”

Where are they now?

Read stories about WAVS Graduates.

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Deusa’s WAVS story: How computer skills gave her new opportunities and hope in West Africa

Learning new computer skills helped Deusa advance her career. Deusa was nervous. It was her [...]

Read More

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