27 Jan 2022
EDUCATION AT THE CHEVALIER TRAINING CENTRE
Established by MSCs in 1992, the Chevalier Training Centre is located in Wainadoi, in Namosi, Fiji, and offers a practical education to up to 75 underprivileged boys and young men, who have no other opportunity to learn the skills needed for employment.
“Our mission is to help our students face life with confidence and dignity,” say the MSC Chevalier Training Centre community. “We meet needs in Fiji which are not met by most of our other educational institutions. The Centre has a special interest in male youths from broken homes, those caught in patterns of rejection, and those who have been in prison or in trouble with the police. Our priority is to assist those who have the least hope.”
The community at the Centre work to educate, train, and empower these young men in practical work skills, including farming and animal husbandry, while also encouraging emotional and social development in terms of personal responsibility, morals and ethics, self-help, and respect for religion. The curriculum includes trade certifications in cabinet making, carpentry, welding and fabrication, motor mechanics, and farm management and animal husbandry, as well as basic accounting skills, punctuality, and time management.
Each student is asked for a contribution of $150 Fijian dollars, approximately €63, per year; however, many cannot afford to pay even this small amount. The students themselves generate income for the centre, through local carpentry and construction jobs, selling their farm produce, and running an annual bazaar where goods created during school workshops are sold. However, MSCs in the Chevalier Training Centre are struggling to do more with less daily, and they need our help.
- A donation of €330 will pay for students’ food for one week.
- €830 will be dedicated to school fees for students who are not able to pay the fees themselves.
- €1,660 will cover the costs of medical expenses, wellbeing workshops, and counselling sessions.
- €4,150 is needed to replace old and unusable mattresses, bed sheets, and curtains, while students will make new bedframes in carpentry workshops.
CAN YOU PLEASE HELP THE CHEVALIER TRAINING CENTRE?
A SAFE HAVEN AT THE CHEVALIER HOSTEL
The Chevalier Hostel was established by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1981 in Suva, in the Fiji Islands, to provide accommodation for young men who wish to continue their education, but whose families face severe financial difficulties.
The hostel caters for 14 youths at any one time, aged between 13 and 22 years. The community here also help to rehabilitate young men who have committed previous offenses and have been in trouble with the police, and who now wish to make a fresh start.
Students contribute to the running of the hostel, with regular fundraising activities. The prizes included in these fundraising endeavours include homemade marmalade and eggplant jams, pies, and cakes, and root crops from farm produce.
Every year, the Chevalier Hostel receives more and more applications from families seeking a place for their child; however, resources are becoming even more limited, and MSCs at the hostel are appealing for your help so they can continue to journey with young men who wish to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
- A donation of €290 will pay for students’ food for one month.
- €500 will provide fuel for one year.
- €415 will pay for water and electricity for the hostel for one year.
- €830 will cover the costs of medical expenses, wellbeing workshops, and counselling sessions.