Current News

September 2011

This term has started off with a flurry of activity.  We were invited to exhibit at a provincial trade show in Chimoio.  This was attended by the First Lady of Mozambique, Maria Da Luz Guebuza.  She was interested in the training that we offer and we were able to give her a table made by our students.

Maria Da Luz Guebuza receiving the table from Sonia Mutanga, our first young lady to train as a cabinet maker.

The following week we had a visit from the First Secretary for the Frelimo Party for the Province of Manica. He came with around twenty five government officials including our district administrator.  They spent about one hour with us looking around the training centre and meeting the staff and students. It was a good opportunity to show the training that the students are receiving and to build relationships with local government.

This year has rushed by. It is hard to believe that we are now in the final term and that our current students will be soon graduating. They finish in mid November and so we are starting to look for local employment opportunities for them.

In May we purchased a sawmill for the centre.  This has been a great asset providing sawn timber for the furniture making and for sale.  The mill is made locally by Saw Services in Chimoio and next year we also intend to start a saw mill operators training program. This will mean that as Saw Services sells the  mills we will be able to provide trained operators. Castro and Manuel who have both worked with us since the training centre was first built have both trained to operate the sawmill.

Castro operating the mill

Manuel sharpening blades

We have had a great start to the year with additional students enrolling in March for a 4 month training program. They will be graduating at the end of June. Our students on the two year program who have been with us since last year will conclude their studies as the end of 2011.

The centre has now closed for this year and we re-open for teaching at the end of January with the same group of students for 2011. Looking back it has been a great year with positive development of the school teaching staff and the students have all made significant progress with their studies.  In the last week of November and first week in December all the students were out on industrial placement with local companies.

Thank you to all those who have supported and encouraged the centre and association during 2010. We are really grateful and we couldn't have had such a successful year without your generosity.

We were invited to exhibit the work of the centre at the national consultation of science and technology which this year took place in Chimoio our nearest city.  It was a three day event with a conference and meetings for the delegates and the exhibitors had a display area outside of the conference hall.  It was a good opportunity to raise the profile of the association and the school at a national level.

Posted 23rd June 2010

We have just come to the end of the first term for this year.  It has been a great first start of the year and the students have settled in well and applied themselves to their studies.  One of the high lights of the term has been making a new five-a-side football pitch on the school campus.  We had the inaugural match, students against staff on Wednesday 23rd of June.  I think that the teachers where hoping that their wise ways would overcome their lack of speed and agility. The students thought that it would be an easy victory!  The final score?........A 2-2 draw!  Enjoy the photos!

The inaugural match, teachers and staff against students.

Clearing the pitch of tree stumps and leveling out the pitch

Posted 28 May 2010.

We are drawing to the last part of our first term at the school.  There has been lots of progress and we have now formed a school leadership team with a Principle, Vice-Principle and Administrator, you can see our photos on the staff page!

Gondola district had a visit this week from the president of Mozambique and we were asked to make a chair to present to him on behalf of the associations and entrepreneurs of our locality. This was a wonderful privilege for the school and also a bit nerve wracking as we were only given a weeks notice to accomplish about 2 weeks work!  However we finished it and here is a photo to prove it.

Posted March 2010

In March 2010 we matriculated a new group of students.  They come from the surrounding villages and the local town, Gondola. They will be studying until November 2011.  There are 15 on the Metalwork course and 15 on the Carpentry Course.

The new students who started this year

Posted February 2010

Our graduates from 2009 are all doing well since finishing at the school. 20 out of the 23 who graduated have secured permanent employment.  The remaining 3 are still looking for a permanent situation.

Graduates of 2009