Waan Aelon in Majel continues churning out graduates of its unique vocational and life skills training program, with the latest graduation last Friday at the newly re-built WAM facility in Delap.
For confirmation on the impact this program is having for Marshall Islands young people, look no further than the two alumni guest speakers who talked at the August 1 graduation of 24 newly minted WAM grads, and last Friday’s event with 33 graduates: Gene Hemos and Anje Lelwoj, respectively.
Both gained employment opportunities, with Hemos lately working for Pacific International Inc. and Lelwoj with Marshall Islands Fishing Venture in its Human Resources department.
The 33 graduates in last Friday’s ceremony is an all-time record number in the over 20 years that WAM has been operating three and six month trainings.
Moreover, it also set a record for female participation, as 14 of the 33 were young women.
Lelwoj told his story last Friday to the graduates, their families and friends who turned out for the program. Like all of the WAM trainees, he dropped out school before he came to WAM to get his life back on track. In Lelwoj’s case, he left Northern Island High School in 2015 to come to Majuro to help care for his sick father.
He then attended the WAM National Training Council-supported Vocational and Life-Skills training program the same year for six months.
In 2016, he was also selected to attend the WAM training supported by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program. The WAM GEF program aimed to train more mature trainees ages 18-50 through woodworking — carving, and making picture frames and stick charts.
After graduation, he worked as a security guard at the Marshall Islands Resort for four years. Currently, he’s working at the tuna processing company Marshall Islands Fishing Venture in its Human Resources department as a recruiter where he is responsible for hiring both local and foreign applicants.
A majority of the latest graduates are aiming to resume formal education through CMI’s Adult Basic Education program, while others are returning to high school or seeking employment.
Of the 33 new graduates:
- 21 will head to CMI’s Adult Basic Education program ABE – 21 (WAM is assisting 20 trainees in completing the ABE registration requirements for Spring 2026. One parent is assisting their child to register)
- One will head to Life Skills Academy (WAM will assist the one female to register to attend LSA in spring 2026)
- Four are seeking employment (three females, one male)
- One will head to CMI ABE Ebeye (One of the 14 female graduates is migrating back to Ebeye with her parent)
- Five will head to attend further skills trainings (All five males are planning on attending the US Job Corps program or CMI’s Maritime Training Center).