Castelo de Sonhos is a charity supporting the underprivileged in the Silves area, a private institution for Social Welfare which supports and protects children and families. They aim to improve health and education, improve housing conditions and reduce poverty through the distribution of food, clothes and knowledge. RC Silves has:

• raised funds to help in the purchase of a new van.
• donated clothes, household goods and toys;
• backpacks and materials for children starting school;
• contribute shoe-boxes of christmas treats and necessities for the Christmas Shoe-box Appeal.

Casa do Povo de Messines is one of the most dynamic institutions in the region. The activities and services provided are concentrated in five areas: education, social support, culture, sport and leisure. RC Silves has raisied funds to:-

• help in the purchase of a learning centre for Casa do Povo;
• purchased a shed for gardening tools;
• helped in the purchase of an soft impact floor for early years learning.

The Bombeiros: Without the dedication and courage of our volunteer firefighters communities in Portugal would be at much greater risk. For this reason Silves Rotarians continue to support the service and show its gratitude for their continued professionalism. RC Silves has:-

• purchased a tool to stabilize vehicles after an accident so that survivors can be rescued.
• Provided energy bars and supplies of water for them while on duty fighting fires across Portugal.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award is in recognition of outstanding achievements in business in our community.

Star Award Rotary Club of Silves was invited to the Five Stars Gala of the Agrupamento Escolas de Silves Sul. A happy night where students were able to celebrate their achievements in education and sport. Members of the local school community were also honoured, for their support. The Rotary Club of Silves were one of five groups presented with a star. Over the last few years, the Silves Rotary club and the schools in the group have worked hand in hand, collaborating with the aim of enhancing education in the municipality of Silves. A winning partnership that will continue. Thank you, Agrupamento Escolas de Silves Sul we were honoured to receive our star.

End Polio Now. What does it mean to “end polio”? It means zero reported cases around the world. The endgame depends on all of us and Rotarians have committed to ensuring that no child suffers the paralyzing effects of polio. Find out more by visiting the End Polio Now website.

Here is what we do:

• build awareness by sharing the polio story;
• raise funds by collecting at each and every meeting;
• Donations of 5€ from our fellowship walks
• This last year we donated 1000€

Barlavento Hospital. Many charities make a special effort at Christmas to support the local community. RC Silves is no exception. This year we again joined Castelo de Sonhos in their shoebox appeal, presenting many goodies for the needy families in the Silves locality. For the past two years this has also included shoeboxes for those in the psychiatric ward of Barlavento hospital. Tailoring the shoebox contents for the needs of these special patients.

Emergency Food Fun. RC Silves paid a visit to the Friguesia de Armação de Pêra to donate 500€ to the emergency food fund, just in time for Christmas. This fund supports families in need in Armação de Pêra making a direct impact in the community especially at Christmas but all year round too.

Biodiversity Forests In 2023 Escola EB 2,3 Algoz was selected to house the first Biodiversity Forest to be planted as part of RC Silves environmental projects. In 2025 pupils and teachers of the Agrupamento de Escolas de Silves gathered at the EB1 Escola Secundária de Silves with RC Silves Rotarians and members of the local Clube Dos Bons Jardins or CBJ to plant the second urban biodiversity forest. Just part of RC Silves environmental plans more to come.

Youth Arts Peace Project. This project’s core belief is that peace education empowers individuals to create meaningful change that ripples from local communities to a global scale. To achieve this, the club is launching an inter-school competition. Students will work in teams to make a powerful statement about peace using any creative medium they choose – including art, music, multimedia, dance, drama, song or poetry. Starting Soon!

Peace Pole. The Rotary Peace Pole Project is a global initiative where Rotary clubs install hand-crafted monuments displaying the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in multiple languages to promote worldwide harmony and conflict resolution. Algarve Rotary Clubs erected a peace pole at Faro Airport. RC Silves contributed to its purchase.

Cookery Competition Based at Algoz School. Teams presented 3 courses with drinks to 8 Judges who feedback to students following their feast. The competition offers the chefs and waiters a challenge and an audience for their food. Participants receive a certificate and the winning team members a FNAC gift voucher. This activity provides students with the confidence and expertise to take forward in their chosen career in tourism.

School exchange program with Wildern High School, Southampton. The 6 pupils of Wildern School visit SilvesSul school. They stay with families and attend school experiencing Portuguese life and culture. The SilvesSul pupils visit Wildern School pupils and sample UK culture and family life. The exchange has been described as life-changing and inspiring by the students and the teachers, who have made lifelong friends.

Sensory Room and Garden Armacao de Pera school part of the Agrupamento de Escolas SilvesSul and is receiving younger and younger Students with learning difficulties. The sooner they can start education he better for them later in life. To aid their education these children need a quiet and safe place to go when the world gets too much. Via our sponsored walk we raised enough funds  to  equip a sensory room.

Modal United Nations (MUN) MUN is a simulation of the work of the United Nations. Pupils form delegations and represent the policies of their given country on such issues as Human Rights violations, the exploitation and use of natural resources, and much more.  Each year RC Silves sponsor two teams of 6 pupils and 2 teachers to travel to the UK to attend Cheadle Hulme school in Manchester, who host an MUN conference. The team’s job to represent the countries of Portugal and one other. Around 600 pupils from around the UK, and occasionally overseas, converge for a weekend of high-quality debate, including a crisis about which the delegates have no prior knowledge and must respond rapidly to an emerging theoretical world problem. A confidence and awareness activity that can change lives.

Art and Poetry:  Celebrating students’ creativity in the Arts. Lead by resident artist and Poet, David Trubshaw, our major successes have been working with primary schools on fairy tales and an art project “Sardines”. A book “ Painting & Poetry” was launched with students painting a picture and writing a poem. Arte e Poesia a book of the top 50 paintings and poems was published, and a donation was made from sales of the book to the local charities.

The Digital Media Project involves students in the use of digital media in the classroom. The best examples of their creativity were shown at the SilvesSul Oscars. The Oscars were attended by students, parents and VIPs.  An activity providing students with a larger audience for their work outside of school and home.

Scholarships: RC Silves has so far supported 4 Students with their university education enabling students from a poorer background to make the most of their educational opportunities.