Petreans who went to Eagle School, which was absorbed into Springvale House when it had to be closed in 1978 for security reasons, will be interested in this item from the Daily News on the new use to which the Eagle site has been put.
Daily News
22 July 2003
Vocational centre turned into youth training facility
MUTARE - The government has converted a vocational training centre in Vumba, about 25 kilometres south-east of Mutare, into an all-girls youth training camp, displacing 500 students in the process, the Daily News established yesterday.
Youth, Gender and Employment Creation Minister Elliot Manyika last Friday officially opened the new Vumba National Youth Training Camp. The camp, which was formerly known as Eagle Training Centre and offered courses in secretarial studies, becomes the government's first all-girls camp for its controversial national youth service training programme. The head of the Youth Ministry in Manicaland province, under which Vumba falls, Reward Magama said the displaced secretarial students had been moved to Magamba, which is another government vocational college about 15 kilometres north of Mutare. Magama said: "College activities have been moved to Magamba. There is enough space there for everyone."
The government official refused to comment on reports that the government had decided to open a new all-girls camp following reports of female cadets falling pregnant at camps where males and females are enrolled. But a government source said: "There were complaints that girls were being impregnated at some of these centres so we decided to have an all-girls camp for a start."
The new Vumba camp, which can take about 700 cadets at any one time, brings to six the number of youth camps opened by the government since it launched the controversial youth training programme three years ago. The government says the youth training programme is intended to build Zimbabwe's youths into responsible and patriotic citizens. But critics, human rights groups and churches accuse the government of using the youth programme to train gullible youngsters into a violent militia brigade for the ruling ZANU PF party. The government summoned the youths to help the army and police crush opposition Movement for Democratic Change demonstrations at the beginning of last month. Nearly all reports on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe since the programme began have accused the youths of unleashing terror and violence against government and ZANU PF opponents. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the biggest umbrella group for churches in Zimbabwe, this week said it was setting up a committee to probe the government's youth programme and allegations that the youths were committing human rights violations.
By Kelvin Jakachira
Zim Standard
16 Septmeber 2003
Farmer loses cattle to starving 'Green Bombers'
By Valentine Maponga
STARVING Zanu PF youths - also known as 'Green Bombers' - who are training at the Eagle Training Centre in Burma Valley recently invaded a farm in the area and slaughtered two beasts for the pot as reports of food shortages at the national service training centres worsen.
According to farm workers, about 80 hungry youths descended on the property armed with axes and raided Manyere Farm, owned by commercial farmer Robert Murray, in Burma Valley. They frog-marched the farm's foreman to a dip tank where they slaughtered the two beasts and ordered farm workers to skin the animals before taking away the meat to feast at the centre.The youths were arrested but later released after the commercial farmer withdrew the matter before the courts saying the youths' "superiors" had assured him they would be disciplined and he would be compensated.
Last week, there was drama again at the Eagle Training Centre when several female "graduands" fainted from hunger during the centre's first pass-out parade. Senior Zanu PF officials, including national service training head and Minister of Youth, Gender and Employment Creation, Elliot Manyika - and Olivia Muchena, the Minister of Science and Technology - could only stare in disbelief as the female graduands started falling down one after the other, during the parade.
Food is reported to be scarce at the Zanu PF institutions which critics say are training rogue elements accused of raping and maiming Zimbabweans who do not support the governing party.
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