Child beneficiary from community served by SC Bambous, Mauritius…

Child beneficiary from community served by SC Bambous, Mauritius

First talks were held with the government of Mauritius about building an SOS Children's Village in 1988 and in 1989, a government agreement was signed. The government welcomed the initiative taken by SOS Children's Villages and provided the organisation with a plot of land in Beau Bassin near Port Louis, the country's capital. Activities by SOS Children's Villages on Mauritius finally started in 1990, when the corner stone of the SOS Children's Village Beau Bassin was laid. In early 1992, the first children were able to move in into the newly built family houses. Five years later, in 1997, an SOS Youth Facility was opened for the youths who had already outgrown the SOS Children's Village. Even though Mauritius is a popular tourist destination, there is still much poverty there, especially in those regions that are not frequented by tourists. Even though child welfare facilities exist, most of them are sub-standard. It was therefore decided to build another SOS Children's Village on the island. The government made a suitable plot of land available in Bambous, situated in the district Black River. It was put into operation in November 2003, when the first children and their SOS mothers moved in and in 2005, an SOS Vocational Training Centre was added. In 2004, a family strengthening programme was established in Bambous. The programme offers support to families who are at risk of abandoning their children and enables children to grow within a caring family environment. Together with local authorities and other service providers, SOS Children’s Villages supports families and helps them to take good care of their children.

The district Black River is a poorer area away from the urban areas in a mainly agricultural region. The selected plot of land is about 25 kilometres away from the site of the first SOS Children's Village in Beau Bassin. The government offered a three hectares site outside the city centre close to a newly finished apartment block, which ensures quick integration of the children into the local community. It lies on a plateau at the foot of a mountain, overlooking the town and the sea to the west. The town of Bambous is equipped with primary and secondary schools as well as institutions for vocational or technical training. The official opening ceremony took place on 12 May 2005 in the presence of A. Raouf Bundhun, at that time vice-president of Mauritius, and Helmut Kutin, president of SOS-Kinderdorf International.

The SOS Children's Village Bambous comprises twelve family houses, houses for the village director and the SOS aunts (who support the SOS mothers and take care of the children when the mothers are on leave), a multi-purpose hall and an administrative building. Up to 120 children can find a new home at the SOS Children’s Village Bambous. The SOS Kindergarten on the same premises is open to children from the neighbourhood and constitutes a vital link between the SOS Children’s Village and the surrounding community, thus ensuring effective integration of our children and facilities. It consists of three class rooms, a playground and a kitchen and has a capacity to take in up to 75 children.

The family strengthening programme offers access to essential services for children’s development (eg. educational, nutritional and health support, social skills) and supports families to protect and care for their children. The programme also aims at linking families with income generating activities and offers help to improve the parents’ parenting skills. At the SOS Vocational Training Centre, up to 30 youngsters both from the SOS Children’s Village and from the family strengthening programme receive training in plumbing, electrical installation, woodwork and pastry.

SOS Children's Villages Mauritius ref. Bambous 11 Selmour Ahnee Street Rose Hill MAURITIUS Correspondence languages: English French