With over two thirds of people in Guinea-Bissau living off of less than $2 a day, breaking the cycle of poverty is difficult, but not impossible.
A few years ago, Agusto wasn’t sure how he was going to earn a living in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s smallest and poorest countries. Here, the education system is in crumbles and there are few paying jobs. Agusto knew that it doesn’t take much to set up your own business in Guinea-Bissau – just some tools and some job skills. But many young people like himself who are ready and eager to work don’t have the opportunity to get those basic things.
One day, his younger brother told him about the WAVS School and its welding program. He encouraged him to enroll in the nine-month course. Agusto said to himself: “OK, I’m ready. If there’s an opportunity. I can go for it.”
After completing the course and purchasing a set of quality, affordable tools through the school’s New Entrepreneurs Program, Agusto started working.
“All the skills that I’m using now, I got them from the school,” Agusto said. “How to work with the tools, how to work with the machines – all these skills I learned from the school.”
He’s now able to provide for his younger siblings and his mother, all of whom depend on him.
“I’m so proud of myself because now I have my own shop,” Agusto said. “I don’t have to go out there to ask people for money.”
And Agusto says he learned more than just a job skill. He also grew in his faith.
“I will never forget to thank God for giving me the opportunity to study in this school,” he said. “The school has a good program that helped me progress in a technical way and spiritual way, as well.”
The training that Agusto received at the WAVS School helped him break the cycle of poverty that is common for many in West Africa. You can equip young people like Agusto with the skills they need to provide for themselves and their families — for a lifetime.
Join One Student, a community of monthly donors giving young people in Guinea-Bissau the opportunity to build a brighter future. At WAVS vocational schools, students invest in their education by paying a small portion of their tuition. When you sponsor a student, you help cover the rest—making their training possible.
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Chris Collins
Chris Collins is Executive Director of West African Vocational Schools, a Christian nonprofit that equips West Africans with life-changing job skills.
