"WAVE GAVE ME THE NECESSARY FOUNDATION AND OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE MY INCOME"- Alumna Blessing Adebayo

The restaurant is SLOW but Blessing is a fast learner.

Her supervisor echoes this and opines that Blessing has the attitude and competence "to one day head one of our kitchen (units) of one of our sister branch".

Blessing's willingness to learn is her biggest motivator. Her eagerness to learn new things encouraged her to enrol in WAVE.

Blessing was a teacher in a secondary school within her area. This she did for 4 years after finishing her secondary school education.

Blessing was earning well below the national minimum wage. As such, she was neither able to further her education nor afford her basic needs.

Although Blessing had an interest in teaching, the better-paying jobs were not forthcoming. Frustration began to set in until she casually mentioned to a friend that she was seeking better opportunities.

It was at this point, Blessing's contact with WAVE was established. She met some people (trainees) who were wearing WAVE t-shirts and sharing flyers in her area and decided to speak with them.

After learning about the program, Blessing was convinced this was the next step she needed. "Although I struggled with finances for transportation because I had to stop working to fully concentrate on the program, my mother supported me plus I used up all my savings," she said.

Commuting was another major challenge for Blessing. "Coming Mile 12 every day before 8 am, I got punished several times for lateness and almost got expelled", she said smiling.

The punishment of standing in most of the classes helped her manage her time well and is a skill she still puts into practice today.

In less than a week after graduation, Blessing got a job at RSVP Lagos through WAVE and 2 years after, she has moved to SLOW Lagos restaurant- a sister company to RSVP while occupying multiple roles.

Blessing aspires also to be a Child Facilitator and is currently studying a course in that line.

She credits WAVE for "giving me the necessary foundation and opportunity to improve my income" while also showing gratitude to her employer for giving her time to further her education.