A non-profit NGO named “Shine Vocational Training Institute” (Shivotin) on Friday, February 28, 2025 graduated over thirty Liberians in various disciplines. The first graduation ceremony of the institution saw graduates receive certificates in computer, Cosmetology, Interior Decoration, Plumbing, Tie & Dying, Soap Science, and General food service.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Executive Director of Shivotin, Shine Blamo, said the first graduation ceremony marks an auspicious occasion in the life of their institution, (SHIVOTIN) for the opportunity to be of service to Liberia, and to the people of, in particular, to the graduating class.
According to him, the initiative or program is part of SHIVOTIN”s which aimed at building communities ‘capacity to achieve the relevant social-economic change and development.
“It is a sustainable initiative aimed at addressing issues that are relevant to communities, progress, and sustainability,” he noted. The vision bearer of Shine Vocational Training Institute explained that the approach to building a vibrant nation is one which the community retains the power for change, stating that central to the institution is to equip the community with the relevant skills, knowledge, capacity, and whatever available materials resources to enable it to thrive and become sustainable.
Mr. Blamo said the intent of the institution is to ensure effective, vibrant, measurable, and sustainable change. He pointed out that the success of ‘‘our institution will not be defined by or limited to any specific program or activity.’’
He mentioned that the institution aims to ensure a vibrant career development for young people Mr. Blamo asserted that it is a commitment to ensure the realization, and therefore, it is a binding obligation on all Liberians.
“It’s in this respect that the SHIVOTIN makes a clarion call to all to buckle up and engage with the community,” Mr. Blamo stated. According to him, the failure to prioritize the mental development, especially from the level of the community, Liberians and visitors alike, reflects squarely on the irresponsibility of the government.
He indicated that while blaming the government will offer little solace or any assurance of mitigating the mental and vibrant career crisis, the need to engage and mobilize at a community level is of primary importance.
“This is an emergency of great magnitude. The need to galvanize Liberians, partners in progress demand a most critical attention. SHIVOTIN harbors no doubt in its capacity to achieve the tasks of building young people capacity. While it harbors no scruples of the enormity of the task, we are quite confident of achieving the task,’ he averred. However, he called on foreign partners, communities and local institutions to join the movement and lend their requisite support to accomplish the task.
By Prince Saah
