Can you believe that a new school year is about to begin? In fact, it has already started in some states like Oklahoma. For Liberia, the students return to school in early September. Our UDS Academy has been receiving many families interested in enrolling their students.
Recently, we received all the grade sheets from our 17 academic scholarship students. One graduated and the other 16 were promoted to next grade with two in the 12th grade. Since 2011, we have partnered with a few schools to offer scholarships to deserving students who needed financial assistance. Thank you to all the sponsors who support our young students!
Before we go into our featured article, we want to share some of the latest photos for our Cosmetology students. Their training includes plaiting (braiding) hair, manicures, and pedicures. They enjoy the opportunity to do their practicals during each class period. One of our hotel management graduates, Linda Foeday enrolled in this course to learn another trade. She also shared these photos.
Do you remember when Abel Kabba (Plumbing Student) said, “Thank you very much for doing great things that you aren’t even noticing“? It is hard to convey in our newsletters how much you are doing to help young men and women in Liberia receive quality training at our center. You are providing the necessary resources to make this possible. You are buying the practical materials, equipment, and tools to apply what they are learning in their respective courses. You are ensuring these students will graduate next year prepared and ready to start working immediately in their given trade.
Our cosmetology students are an example of how “practice makes perfect.” Each class they find their own clients and apply the many different styles of braids. This is called plaiting hair and is a unique art-form because it can take several hours of weaving their real hair with extensions. These type of hairstyles protect the ends of the hair and decrease tangling, breaking and shedding.
Your investment in our students allows them to perfect their craft. Photos by Roseline Sonday, Instructor
You can see your students are focused and detail-oriented while plaiting their client’s hair. Photos by Roseline Sonday, Instructor
We are nearing the end of the second month of classes at ourvocational training center. Our students are given ample opportunity to build their skills in their given field. Our instructors provide 80% of the students’ lessons as practical learning. This hands-on training happens in the classroom, out in the field for a contract, or part of community service project. Our goal is to help students gain marketable skills and teach them how to pay-it-forward with their training.
The next course we would like to introduce is Cosmetology. This is a nine-month course that offers young women the chance to learn how to work with hair (washing, cutting and styling), as well as other services like manicures, pedicures, etc. The instructor is Josephine Wabloh, who received her cosmetology certificate in Ghana. One of our students and assistant trainers of the Backpacks for Peace project, Roseline Sonday, is a teacher’s assistant for this course. She knows how to style hair and wants to learn other aspects of this trade.
Our talented team in Liberia built a stylist station for our students to practice working in a salon setting. They have hair to practice plaiting (which is a type of braid) that is draped over sting nailed to a wall. They also have one mannequin head, which is used to practice various types of protective styles. As part of their service learning, they provide free haircuts to children in the community.
The following photos show what our students are learning in this course:
Our students learning how to plait hair.
This is the stylist station built by our team of Kelvin Fomba (UDS co-founder) and Daude (carpenter)
These two students are learning to plait hair on this mannequin head.
Our instructor, Josephine Wabloh (blue & white dress) gives each student attention as they learn this trade.
Josephine shows a student how to plait hair while Roseline (white shirt & jeans) watches other students.
Our students practice giving manicures to females enrolled in other courses.
Our students giving free haircuts to children in the community.
You, our valued Star Supporters, have made this vocational training center possible. Your generous giving inspires our students to pay-it-forward as they learn their desired trade. We Thank You for your continued and heartwarming support of children and youth in Liberia!
