GIFF JOHNSON
When was the last time you attended a graduation ceremony in the Marshall Islands and the keynote speaker was a high school drop out?
If you answered, “never,” that would be about right.
And this point underlines another reason that the Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) program is both unique and innovative — celebrating young people who went from a no-future outlook to being on-track for success.
WAM Director Alson Kelen takes pleasure in explaining that WAM focuses its training programs mostly on young people who, for one reason or another, dropped out of elementary and middle school, and when they signed up for WAM were completely off the grid — if you think that being in school or having a job is “on the grid.”
WAM keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony last Friday, Gene Hemos, made it to Jaluit High School, but dropped out soon after. He later signed up for a WAM-sponsored six-month life and vocational skills training in 2018, and credits this for helping to get his life back on track. Today, he works for Pacific International Inc. and is raising a family. He told the 24 young graduates of the latest WAM six-month training that, just like he did, they will have a bright future from completing the training program.
Over half of the graduates are registered to resume attending school, and WAM staff are working with the others to get them slotted into job opportunities in Majuro, said WAM Deputy Director Sealend Laiden, who emceed last Friday’s graduation.
Due to the WAM training’s combining a healthy dose of English and math classes that are aligned with CMI’s Adult Basic Education requirements, 11 of the 24 graduates — including all five of the female participants — have registered for the ABE program and were scheduled to take the placement test this week, Laiden said. Two others have already registered with Marshall Islands High School and will begin their high school studies later this month.
“For the remaining 11 male graduates, WAM is assisting them in applying and securing a job placement on island,” Laiden said.
WAM’s multi-layered training provides counseling services, academic instruction, hands-on carpentry skills learning, handicraft-making skills, canoe sailing skills, cultural knowledge, life skills support including opening bank accounts and getting registered with MISSA, and help securing school and job opportunities — all of this adds up to opening the door to the future for the graduates who, a year ago this time, were mostly drifting in their lives.
The trainees also gained “real” carpentry work experience by helping to build the new WAM office and training center that had burned down several years ago.
The program utilized boats funded by the RMI National Energy Office for the training. This latest six-month training was largely funded by the RMI National Training Council with funding from the World Bank.