SOS Children in Mauritius

Overview of Mauritius

The island of Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean, about 800 km east of the island of Madagascar, off the coast of East Africa.

A former British colony, it became independent in 1968. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 585 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Even though Mauritius is a popular tourist destination, there is still much poverty and many of the child welfare facilities are inadequate. Increasing industrialisation has resulted in economic growth and higher standards of living, but there has been a corresponding increase in social problems caused by broken families and problems of alcohol and drug addiction, coupled with an increase in crime.

Our work in Mauritius

Beau Bassin

We began our work on the island of Mauritius in 1990 when the first community was opened in Beau Bassin, about 20kms north of the capital, Port Louis, on land donated by the government. The village is in a mainly residential, middle class suburb of the town and has Children from Bambous, Mauritius fifteen family-sized houses built in traditional Creole style. Two youth houses with eight apartments provide accommodation for the older children where they can take their first guided steps towards independence while completing their education or vocational training, under the guidance of a youth leader.

Like most SOS Children's Villages, Beau Bassin has a nursery which is also open to children in the local community, as is the village sports ground. There are several good schools in the area for the older children and medical care is available at a state health centre in Beau Bassin.

Bambous

In 2003, a second village was opened at Bambous, the capital of the Black River Province, 12 miles south of the village at Beau Bassin. There are twelve family houses, a nursery for 75 children and an SOS Social Centre that supports 250 vulnerable children and their families.

Aids Orphans in Mauritius

Life in SOS Children's Villages Mauritius: SOS Children's Villages Mauritius take part in Global Peace Games

Group sport and fun with a serious underlying theme of global peace was the order of the day on 26 September when children from SOS Children's Villages Mauritius came together with other children from the community to celebrate United Nations international day of peace. The Global Peace Games have been celebrated since 2001 and bring together children, sport and the topic of peace in an environment that encourages peaceful solutions and cultural understanding in a non violent environment.

Individual peace games are held throughout the world around United Nations International Day of Peace which is celebrated each year on 21 September. It shows support and solidarity for children, youths, peace, cultural acceptance and the attempt to meet the millennium development goals.

In Beau Bassin, at the Vuillemin playground, which is within the community and just a football kick away from SOS Children's Village Beau Basin, teams from seven different communities came together for a football festival. 200 children assembled in the morning and excitement soon spread amongst the crowd who had gathered to watch.

The event commenced with special messages from the United Nations Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace and from the President of FIFA about the importance of living together in harmony as brothers and sisters irrespective of our backgrounds and cultures.

In one corner of the playground was an art exhibition with posters, drawings and slogans that the children from SOS Children's Village Beau Bassin had prepared for the special day.