Welcome to The Yearbook
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 quarter, visit The Yearbook to see your impact up close.
Not a One Student member yet? Join a community that is making an impact in students’ lives every month.
Join One Student
Highlights
The ceremony was attended by several members of the government and was broadcast on TV!
Inauguration ceremony held for the first classroom buildings at the Bissau campus!
The Japanese Embassy, which granted part of the funds for the construction of the first classroom building, was impressed with the quality of the school!
WAVS welding instructor, Dalton Da Silva, shows off one of the stools students made.
Welding officially begins selling production items at the Bissau campus!
These projects help bring in additional income for the schools while also giving the students hands-on training. Students are able to see how even small projects like these stools can help them provide for themselves in the future.
The workshop should be completed by the end of this year!
Construction starts on the new Training Center
This new training center will be in a 16,000-square-foot building with training labs for welding and solar installation & maintenance, as well as smaller workshops for machining and carpentry. It also includes offices, classrooms and a large bathroom that will serve as the main restroom for all trade-skill students on the campus.
Around Campus
< Swipe or drag to view more photos >
We love visitors! This last term, the school had the privilege of hosting 5 visitors who had the opportunity to see the work WAVS is doing first hand and get a glimpse of what life is like in Guinea-Bissau.
One thing that separates the WAVS welding program from others is that the WAVS school is one of the only that teach students how to weld aluminum. In this photo, WAVS welding instructor Dalton Da Silva was explaining the differences between the types of electrodes used for aluminum and those used for steel.
Several years ago, the WAVS welding program built and installed a roof for a school in remote village. On a recent trip to the village, staff were able to see that the roof is still in great condition and the school is continuing to serve the community.
One of the visitors to Guinea-Bissau was Andres Diaz who works for Paul Halajian Architects. For Andres (left), this trip was particularly significant because he got to see the fruit of his work in person! Andres did the architectural drawings for the Bissau campus. He got to see two of the classrooms now built and construction beginning on the new Training Center. Here is with Ivo Andrade, Construction Manager.
Alyssa Braun (right) is the Donor Relations Manager at WAVS and was able to visit Guinea-Bissau for her first time. Check out her blog post about how she witnessed love in action through the lives of the students and staff at the WAVS schools during her trip to Guinea-Bissau.
Behind the Scenes
Visitors to Guinea-Bissau visit classes and play games with students
In this video, the team visiting the WAVS school in Guinea-Bissau was playing a game with the English students. For this round, everyone was tasked with saying the name (in English) of an animal. The rules were that as you went around the circle, each person had to say a name of an animal and couldn’t repeat the name of an animal anyone else said; if you did, you were out. The end of the game was down to just Tim and Solinda, one of the students learning English. Despite Tim’s vast knowledge of some pretty obscure animals, Solinda was victorious!
Spotlight
Jose N’tchala N’ali
WAVS English Intern
Meet Jose N’tchala N’ali
Jose is one of two English students who is participating in the new English internship program! He completed the last level of English this term while also teaching a Level 1 English class at the school as a part of the internship. During the next term, his internship will include working alongside the admin team as a translator and interpreter.
Once Jose completes the internship program, he will be able to include both teaching and administrative translating experience on his resume along with his English diploma!
Where are they now?
Read stories about WAVS Graduates.
To finish university, Rukas first needs to become a welder
I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of our welding students since moving to [...]
Read More
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 [...]
Read More
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 [...]
Read MoreView Past Yearbooks
