Many charities have benefited from the work of Silves Rotary Club since it gained its charter in 1993. The club donates time and energy to supporting the Silves community whilst also participating in cross Algarvean, Portuguese and International projects. Fundraising mainly focuses on the organising of events but the club also facilitates the collection of food, toys and everyday items required locally.
If you would like to make a contribution towards the many worthwhile causes we support, please contact our Treasurer Philippe Email:Philippe Pfister
Rotary Year 2025/26
The President for 2025/26 is Pam Winn
Under Pam’s leadership the club will continue to develop and consolidate our Educational Projects which provide children and young adults with opportunities to expand their horizons. Silves Rotary Club never forgets the less advantaged in our local and international communities and will continue to support them through these difficult times in partnership with Castelo de Sonhos, Casa de Povo in Messines, Corridors of Peace (Chad), the local Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra and the Câmara Municipal de Silves. New activities and challenges will occur during the year which Pam and the members are ready to meet.
Promoting fellowship is always on our agenda through a wide range of activities and events. We will be producing our concerts again this year as well as our small intimate events whilst working to widen Silves Rotary Club’s network of friends. Funds raised this way will support all new and ongoing activities.
Ongoing Programmes
Education Programmes
RC Silves works with the Agrupomento Silves Sul: This group of schools ( EB2,3 Algoz, EB 2,3 and JI Armacao de Pera, EB2,3 and JI School of Silves, JI and Educational Units Alcantarilha / Pêra / Tunes) covers the parishes of Silves, Alcantarilha, Armação de Pêra, Pêra and Tunes. The schools serve 2000 students from a range of backgrounds speaking a large number of languages. A high proportion of students are receiving economic support. For more information on the schools visit their website.
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. We have equipped the sensory room but we still have the sensory garden complete. The school has the room and a rough patch of ground. Through our sponsored walk we hope to raise enough funds to resource the space. More fundraising is needed to make the sensory garden.
Modal United Nations (MUN) A team from Agupamento Escolas SilvesSul will take part. 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, the use of child soldiers and much more. Cheadle Hulme school in Manchester, UK host their own conference. This year on the 4/5 October, when around 600 pupils from around the country, and occasionally overseas, converge for a weekend of high-quality debate, including a crisis about which the delegates have no prior knowledge and have to respond rapidly to an emerging theoretical world problem. RC Silves RC sponsor a 2 teams of 6 pupils this year and 2 teachers to travel to the UK to take part. Their job to represent the countries of Portugal and Angola.
School exchange The schools involved in this project are the Agrupomento Silves Sul and Wildern High School, Southampton. The 6 pupils of Wildern School visit SilvesSul school in March. They stay with families and attend school experiencing Portuguese life and culture. The SilvesSul pupils visit Wildern School pupils in in July to 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.
Cookery Competition The new cookery competition is based at Algoz School. Teams presented 3 courses with drinks to 8 Judges who feedback to students following their feast. The competition runs until the 14 May and culminates with a cook off between the best two teams. The competition offers the chefs and waiters a challenge and audience for their food. Participants receive a certificate and the winning team members a FNAC gift voucher. We hope to be running this again this Rotary Year.
Casa do Povo
Founded 88 years ago to promote the development and well-being of the community, the Casa do Povo de Messines is currently 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. In the past RC Silves has raisied funds to help in the purchase of a sensory room for Casa do Povo, we will continue to support them where necessary this year.
Castelo de Sonhos
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. Funds have been raised in the past to help in the purchase of a new van. Rotarian’s and friends donate clothes and other materials throughout the year in support of the community. We take part in the Back to School campaign which provides backpacks and materials for children starting school. Rotarians and friends also contribute shoe-boxes of christmas treats and necessities for the Christmas Shoe-box Appeal.
Corridors of Peace
The Rotary Club of Silves as part of an international programme run by Corridors of Peace in Switzerland that supports the rehabilitation of women fighters in Chad. We are working with the Charity, who are already working in Chad to help these women set up small businesses so that they can demonstrate their value to their communities and be accepted back into society. Our initial goal is to supply good quality goats to improve livestock. Funds have been raised from duck race event and our past president Jim Kennedy’s sponsored walk through the Yorkshire Dales.
The Silves Rotary Step-up Fund.
The Silves Rotary Club Step-Up Fund was formalised in 2015/2016. Bram Bijloo was a true Rotarian and a great friend who lost his life much too early.
Bram had made a donation to our club funds. When he and his wife Wilma decided to enjoy a trip around the world he stated that he was happy for his donation to be used for good purposes. The Silves Rotary Step-Up Fund is utilised to further the education and career opportunities of individuals. These individuals are selected on perceived merit and are not restricted by age, nationality or by work/profession. This ensures that a young person wishing to become a carpenter will be considered in the same way that someone wanting to follow a profession in law or a sporting career. The club has so far assisted a trainee doctor, a mature student nurse, a psychologist and an engineer in pursuit of their careers.
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 (Paulo Silves) and raise funds by collecting at each and every meeting. Thanks go to Open Media, the publishing house which supplies us with copies of the Algarve Resident for sale at our meetings; the money received goes to our End Polio Now Fund.
Just a few of the beneficiaries who have received funds from RC Silves in the past:-
The Bombeiros: In Portugal 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. This year we have provided 1200€ to purchased a tool to stabilize vehicles after an accident so that survivors can be rescued.
Banco Alimentar: On February 23, 1999 Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger was established. Silves Rotary Club supports Banco Alimentar as it strives to combat waste, recovering surplus food for those who have little or none. We work with individuals, businesses and other Rotarians who are associated with this cause by collecting food and milk products. For more information about Banco Alimentar visit their website or youtube. Rotarians regularly help in the collection of food at supermarkets along the Algarve and during our Rotary meetings.
Associação Oncológica do Algrave is a Non Profit Organisation founded in 1994. The main purpose of this Association is to provide support to oncology patients throughout the Algarve. The club provided funds this year towards a new Mobile Unit for Breast Cancer Screening.
An Institution serving people with mental illness. A multidisiplinary team works with patients through training programmes and occupational activities that encourage and enable them to develop interpersonal and life skills ensuring their reintegration into society. For more information on UNIR visit their website.
THE PAST FEW YEARS
Rotary Year 24/25
The President for 24/25 was Jim Kennedy Jim’s Year version 3
Beyond the continuation of our proven activities Jim’s vision for 2024-2025 was adding a new focus with support for the women of Chad to remain in their country and improve their standard of living. The Rotary Club of Silves in Portugal is working with the Charity, Corridors of Peace who are already working in Chad to help these women set up small businesses so that they can demonstrate their value to their communities and be accepted back into society. Initially they have been market gardening and raising goats. Funds raised will purchase good quality goats and breed them in controlled conditions in preference to the inbred often sick animals that they have now. Jim has already done a sponsored walk in June which has added 900 euros to the fund.
Rotary Year 23/24
The President for 2023/24 was Rainer Kroth.
Beyond the continuation of our proven activities Rainer added is a new focus on Environmental Protection. We all read about the drought, the degradation and erosion of soils and the destructive consequences for the biodiversity in our ecosystems. Along side the Silves Concelho and Florista Nativa a project for a small forest and a biodiversity classroom is under way. The planting will begin in October 2024 at the Algoz site of Agrupamento SilvesSul working with experts in the field of ecology and environmental education.
Rotary Year 22/23
The President 2022/223was Isabel Flores. The Covid 19 pandemic subsided but many families were hit hard by the cost of living crisis and our support for families in need in the Silves area was needed again. Some Education projects were put on hold as schools battled to deliver learning and provide catch up education. 10 members walked 120 kms of the Camino de Santiago and raised 12000€ to renovate some old rooms and a patch of barren ground into a sensory room and garden for very young children with learning difficulties. The work will be completed Autumn 2023. The following link is to a presentation outlining where we were able to help our community this year. Rotary Clube de Silves 2022.2023 Governor’s Visit
Rotary Year 2021/22
The President 2021/22 was Alan Winn. The Covid 19 pandemic continued to cause chaos and our support for families in need in the Silves area was need again. Education also featured highly as schools battled to deliver learning and provide catch up education. The following link is to a presentation outlining where we were able to help during this difficult year for our community. Rotary Clube de Silves 2021.2022 Handover
Rotary Year 2020/21
The President 2020/21 was Alan Winn. The focus throughout this year when the Covid 19 pandemic caused such chaos was the support for families in need in the Silves area. Education also featured highly as schools battled to deliver learning and support to families. The following link is to a presentation outlining where we were able to help during this difficult year for our community. Rotary Clube de Silves 2021.2022
Rotary Year 2019/20
The President for 2019/20 was Isabel Flores. Her focus was the development and consolidation of Educational Projects whilst widening RC Silves network of friends.
Rotary 2017/2018
The President for 2017/2018 was Stewart Smith. This was a year of consolidation. Stewart and his partner Linda had to spend a considerable amount of time in the UK (not by design) and at the Handover in July 2018 he thanked the Board members who had supported Silves Rotary Club during his absence. Stewart said that he was pleased with the ongoing support offered to the various charities supported by the Silves members.
Rotary 2016/17
The President for 2016/17 was David Trubshaw. His focus was the development and consolidation of the Educational Projects which are central to RC Silves work. His particular focus is on the Arts and he had major successes with his primary school art project “Sardines”.
Watch out for David’s latest Art Project – Painting & Poetry launched earlier this year. Students have been asked to paint a picture and write a poem. A book of the top 50 paintings and poems will be published and a donation made from sales of the book to the local charity Casa do Povo de Sao Bartolomeu de Messines.
Rotary Year 2015/16
The President for 2015/16 was Bart Van Linden. His focus was the development and consolidation of the Digital Media and Cookery Educational Projects whilst widening RC Silves network of friends.
Rotary Year 2014/15
The President for 2014/15 was Alan Winn. His focus for the year was the widening of RC Silves network of friends and promoting fellowship through a wide range of activities, from large concerts to small intimate events such as coffee mornings. Find out more:-
Rotary Year 2013/14
2013/14 was again a successful year for Silves Rotary Club. The club has grown and made many friends whilst supporting many good causes. Find out more:-
Rotary Year 2012/13
In 2012/13 The Rotary Clube de Silves supported many Charities. You can find out more by viewing the Past President, Sheena Rawcliffe’s Powerpoint Presentation shown at the Handover Dinner in July 2013.
Rotary Clube de Silves 