In collaboration with Mavambo Trust, Silveira House hosted an eight week technical and vocational skills training programme for youth from surrounding surbubs. The courses offered included, household electrification, motor mechanics, interior decor, catering, dress making, bakery, hairdressing, welding and capentry among others. These short courses are practice oriented with snippets of introductory theory. The students camped at Silveira House for the full duration of the programme taking both their classes and meals within the facility. This is the work of the Silveira House’s support department that facilitates accomodation and conferencing activities for participants who occasionally undergo training programmes within the premises of Silveira House. Such programmes facilitated by Silveira House trainers preserve a unique balance between formal and informal apprenticeship, bringing out a very colourful picture of development work. At the end of the short courses, those who successfully complete the programme are decorated with a certificate of attendance that acknowledges their competence in the discipline trained. The graduation ceremony this year radiated an atmosphere of hope characterized by smiles, jubilant dances and cheerful speeches.
018 is the second year in a row since the two organizations have come together to co-implement youth empowerment programmes in the area of technical and enterpreneural skills development. Given the decline in job opportunities in ZImbabwe, such programmes help to equip youth with hands-on skills that they can use to create value for themselves and the community, hence make a decent living. Among the youth are single mothers and orphans whose role as bread winners and household heads is difficult without a reliable source of income. Therefore, the technical skills programme comes in handy in response to the call to offer these young adults a means by which they can make dignified livelihoods of their own and support their dependents.
Silveira House this year collaborated with many other institutions within the Catholic family such as Jesuit Communications and the Jesuit Youth Ministry on programmes such as the Peace and Eletions campaign which sought to educate and encourage the youth, especially college students, to participate actively in the democratic processes of the nation. The role of Silveira House in such consortia is mainly leadership and governance training, monitoring and evaluation and providing insights into the Social Teaching of the Church.
Furthermore, youth formation is not an event but a process that requires collective effort and creativity. To this effect, Silveira House also engaged in facilitating training programmes for young leaders such as induction workshops for school prefects and days of recollection for ordinary and advanced level students. Team building and conscience formation activities form the basis of such programmes, thus contribute to holistic education of students from both private and public schools who take part in our programmes.
The Conference of the Methodist Bishops of Southern Africa also held their 5 day annual conference at Silveira House towards the end of 2017. One of the sessions on spirituality was facilitated by Fr Konrad Landsberg, the Superior of the Jesuit community at Silveira House. This is one among a number of religious conferences that have benefited from the expertise offered by Silveira House Staff and the Jesuit Community and the conducive environment afforded to participants.
We invite interested individuals and groups to leverage on the various opportunities on offer for the advancement of human social, economic,spiritual and academic goals. Our programmes and support staff are at your disposal. Accommodation and conferencing facilities as well as grounds are open to the public for different kinds of activities.