Mauritius: Medcare Academy seeks to eradicate extreme poverty by educating and training children and women.

The non-governmental organisation Medcare Academy (MA) exists for 6 years. It works in regions of poverty in the south of Mauritius. It primarily works with vulnerable children, teenagers and single mothers and offers them quality education and training in work skills.

It aims to empower vulnerable children and women living in harsh conditions through education and by engaging them in income-generating activities. Its aim is to render these people financially independent so that they are able to provide for their children.

The main activities are:

• Handicraft (coconut craft, pyrography, jute bag, wood, plastic bottle, newspaper, recycle)
• Kitchen & Back Gardening
• Hairdressing & Beauty-therapy
• Remedial Courses
• Talent Development (music, sketch, dance, singing etc)
• Life Skills

The project reaches a total of 125 direct beneficiaries (95 women and 30 men) and a total of 500 indirect beneficiaries (380 women and 120 men). Its online beneficiaries amount to 875 (500 women and 375 men).

The total budget amounts to Rs 1,110,000:

• Handicraft: Rs 225,000
• Kitchen & Back Gardening: Rs 75,000
• Hairdressing/Beauty therapy: Rs 375,000
• Remedial Courses: Rs 175,000
• Talent Development: Rs 135,000
• Life Skills: Rs 125,000

Medcare Academy regularly works on its monthly evaluation report. Volunteers visit the homes of beneficiaries in order to gather feedback. The organisation uses qualitative information collected through questionnaires and quantitative information to inquire about their quality of life and changes that have occur.

The organisation encountered difficulties in finding volunteers and in receiving funds from sponsors who take time to evaluate its projects. To solve these problems, Medcare Academy offers a stipend and a certificate of participation to its volunteers. It organises fund raising in order to cater for financial needs.

Medcare Academy also allows young mothers, who are regularly absent due to particular circumstances, to work from home in their kitchen and back gardens.

It has set up its Solidarity Hairdressing & Beauty Parlour which is ran by its 5 beneficiaries. Children from the NGO has won the 1st prize for the drawing competition organized by King Savers & La Vanille Nature Park. The children were also invited by the Ministry of Gender to perform at Batimarais. Beneficiaries are now selling fresh vegetables and craft products.

This project can be easily replicated if there is personal voluntary contribution of NGO’s members and partners. Parents residing in the locality should be encouraged to contribute as well. Income-generating activities such as, Bring and Buy, bingo, cinema party, the selling of culinary and handicrafts products, should be organised. Solidarity salon can be organised to raise fund and CSR can be contacted for financial aid.