Full Name: Okon Edet Okon
Nickname: Ratty
Family: Wife (Promise), Sons (Kingsley and Edet)
From: Ifako Okoyong
Lives in: Akpap Okoyong

Why did you decide to train in Metal Welding/Mechanical Maintenance at the Mary Slessor Foundation?

I was interested in the work and wanted to learn.

What did you enjoy most about the training?

Learning and practicing metal welding and mechanical maintenance.

What have you been doing since graduating in June 2012?

I have gotten a few welding jobs making protectors and an engine truck for cassava. I’ve been able to open a salon and shop for my wife to make extra income for our family.

What are your hopes for the future?

To save enough money to open my own shop, which is around NGN 300,000 – 400,000.

Meet the Mary Slessor Foundation
Head trainer of the Fashion and Design Department

MSF Current Work in Nigeria

The Mary Slessor Foundation raises funds to continue her work in providing skills training and opportunities to enable local people to make a living and support their families and communities.

Some of the students of the training programmes have given feedback in their own words on their experiences and hopes for the future:

Effiom Effiong Bassey

My career in the foundation was metal welding and mechanical maintenance. I must therefore commend my passion and love for metal welding work, as my career development programme for the village youth and my ideas I trying to bring reality in the area of metal welding development towards rural poverty eradication.

My plans was after I graduate I will pass my ideas to the youth in the villages. Foundation help me effectively turnaround the state of things in my self and family.

Mrs Rose Ekpo is an assistant to Alhaji in Fashion and Design Department

Her husband died in 2000 and her only daughter died in 2004. In achievement she said that she is very happy for the salary that the MSF normally paid her, because she use the money to buy cloth for herself and feeding of herself and she also use the money in helping is sisters children by paying school fee's for them, and she said that she is very happy about the MSF.

Felix Effiong Edet

I graduated from Mary Slessor Foundation 2013, as the best student in welding and mechanical department and the foundation award me with welding machine and I really want to use these opportunity to advice my colleagues outside there that they should try and give them self future by registered themselves in Mary slessor foundation, Akpap - Okoyong. Cross river state Calabar.

Margaret Edet Etim

I am a graduated student of Mary Slessor Foundation, and I have my certificate from the Foundation and I had received an award gift from the M.S.F. Which was sewing machine, and now I am very hard working person because of the machine that was gave to me. I am now working in my own shop now. I have a lot of customer, because of what I learn from the Foundation. My life is now better to me than before, I really appreciate what the Foundation did for me.