When we opened the new WAVS flagship campus in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, we knew we were taking a risk. We were new to Bissau. People in the neighborhood weren’t familiar with us. And the campus wasn’t exactly easy to get to for anyone not living in the immediate vicinity. It’s located on 28 […]
Author Archives: Chris Collins
06
Feb
Feb
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 […]
06
Aug
Aug
After pouring more than 10,000 cubic feet of reinforced concrete, the foundation is done! Now it’s time to call in the block masons. For the last several months, our contractor has been excavating, constructing concrete footings and foundation beams, laying down pipes and electrical installations, and pouring slab. Now, the new training center is finally […]
18
Jun
Jun
Many nonprofits, NGOs and donors want to see their projects and schools in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world become financially self-sustaining. They don’t want their efforts to be dependent on outside funding forever. But vocational training programs can be expensive, especially with the need for costly equipment and large facilities. And few students […]
10
Jun
Jun
Earlier this year, we broke ground on a brand-new 16,000-square-foot Training Center at our flagship campus in the capital of Guinea-Bissau. It’s scheduled to be completed by early next year. The Training Center will allow us to expand our welding program and launch new programs in carpentry and metalwork machining – skills that are in […]
15
Sep
Sep
How your missions team can be a blessing and not a burden when visiting Africa, or anywhere in the world. With COVID-era travel restrictions all but gone, missions’ trips are back in full swing. This year, hundreds of thousands of church members will hop on planes to visit poor countries all around the world. And […]
08
Jun
Jun
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 […]
18
May
May
We all know it takes three things to start a fire: heat, fuel and oxygen. It also takes three things to turn a dream into reality: faith, a great team, and people like yourself who invest in the vision early on. Just like a fire, if you don’t have all three, you’re left with nothing. […]
02
Aug
Aug
When you click “donate” to buy school supplies for a kid in Africa, to help a woman in India start a business, or to help feed a poor family in rural Guatemala – where does your money go? Nonprofits usually try to give donors a simple message: Donate $50 now to help someone in poverty. […]
