Paul aged 26 is one of the trainees from the Masonry Department. He enrolled at our partner Self Help Initiative for Sustainable Development (SHIFSD) without any prior skills. Paul was considered as one of the vulnerable people in his community before he enrolled in the skills training. He has been living on his own since he was a child. He came to Monrovia from Maryland County to go to school but dropped out of high school due to lack of support. Ever since he dropped out of school, he has not been involved in anything that fosters learning or income generation. He cut grass and did other domestic work for the house owners as substitute for rent. His six siblings in Maryland County are also struggling to go to school due to poverty.

Paul is one of the trainees who put in more time during the construction of SHIFSD’s poultry coup, piggery and the six-classroom annex. SHIFSD provided a minimum compensation for his services and he used the money to buy clothes and food during the training. Following the end of the training, Paul and two of his friends got a contract to construct a 3-bedroom house near SHIFSD office. He earns ten United States Dollars per day and the construction work is expected to last for about 60 days. At the same time, he was negotiating for a new construction contract in his community. When SHIFSD staff visited him at the construction site, he said that he is happy with the skills acquired and that he will use the income from his services to improve his life. He also plans to use the income to pay for his house rent and live an independent life.