Capital: Port Louis
Area: 1,860 km²
Population: 1.2 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Descendants of Indian immigrants, Creole
Official language(s): English
Religion(s): Hinduism, Islam
Currency: 1 Mauritian rupee = 100 cents
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
First talks were held with the government of Mauritius about building an SOS Children's Village in 1988. A government agreement was signed in 1989 and the local SOS Children's Village association was registered that same year.
The government welcomed SOS-Kinderdorf International's initiatives and placed a plot of land in Beau Bassin, 20 km south of the capital, Port Louis at their disposal. Construction of the SOS Children's Village was able to begin in 1990.
By 1996 the first youths had reached an age where they were ready to move out into their own SOS Youth Facility located outside the SOS Children's Village. Therefore, eight flats were bought that are about two kilometres from the SOS Children's Village.
Even though Mauritius is a popular tourist destination, there is still much poverty there, especially in the regions that are not frequented by tourists. Even though child-welfare facilities do exist, most of them are sub-standard and there are certainly not enough of them. 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, the capital of the Black River Province, 20 km south of the present SOS Children's Village. In November 2003 the first children moved into their new homes.
In 2004 a pilot project was started in Bambous to support and strengthen vulnerable children and their families which led to the establishment of a permanent SOS Family Strengthening Programme in May 2005. The programme enables children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow within a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.
At present there are two SOS Children's Villages in Mauritius, one SOS Youth Facility, two SOS Kindergartens, two SOS Social Centres (family strengthening programmes) and one SOS Vocational Training Centre.