Mauritius - Care Co

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Like many reputable holiday companies we are ABTA registered, our ABTA membership number is 65310.

We also use ATOL protected tour operators. However if you wish to use a tour operator who is not ATOL protected then we will take our supplier failure insurance on your behalf.

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CARE-Co, formerly known as Craft Aid, is a non-profit, non-government organisation with a centre for handicapped people (blind, deaf and physically handicapped) founded in 1989 by Paul Draper MBE, one of two British expats living on the island.

The project’s aim is to provide creative and remunerative employment, as well as education, for people with disabilities. There are no shareholders in the organisation, and profits are shared among the workforce. Surplus is reinvested.

Suzanne Auguste, originally from Scotland, is the second British expat living on the island and runs the educational aspect of the project, the Gonzague Pierre-Louis Centre. The school, which opened in 1994, is privately run for hearing and visually impaired children who, because of their handicap, are unable to benefit from the formal education offered by their local primary school. The centre also provides the island’s only hearing and sight tests. Suzanne is qualified to carry out hearing tests, but since there is no optician on the island specialists must come over from Mauritius. All the equipment, books and stationery are financed by private donation.

After completing their education, the youngsters are employed in the CARE-Co workshop and receive all the conditions of employment that anyone else would.

The only items made on Rodrigues which are sold further afield than Mauritius are the jewellery made at the CARE-Co Centre. The items are made from coconut and include a variety of necklaces, hair slides, bracelets, earrings (for pierced and non-pierced ears), brooches, key rings and pendants. They are all very striking. Fencing, souvenirs, handicrafts and furniture are also made.

Latest on the agenda is a project involving Rodriguan honey. The honey has already had huge success and won second prize at the international London Honey Show in 2000 and third prize in 2001. With 45 employees, CARE-Co is one of the island’s largest private-sector employers. Production activities are carefully chosen to fit in with the ability of the handicapped people to manage the work. The human benefits of CARE-Co both to individuals and Rodriguan society are evident but immeasurable.

To arrange to visit the CARE-Co workshop at Camp du Roi in Port Mathurin contact Beverley Betsy or Suzanne Auguste (% 831 1766; f 831 2276). There are two CARE-Co shops where you can purchase jewellery and souvenirs, one adjoining the workshop and one in Johnston Street. The shops and the workshop are both open 08.00–16.00 Monday–Friday, while the Rue de la Solidarité shop is also open 08.00–12.00 Saturday (closed Sunday and public holidays).

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