As members of these communities who understand the realities of everyday life, their role will be to listen to residents, identify the main challenges facing families, connect them with available support services and help develop solutions tailored to local needs.

This initiative builds on more than 25 years of experience working alongside the residents of Barkly. Over the years, their active involvement has helped shape an approach based on listening, participation and finding solutions that reflect the community’s needs. Fondation Joseph Lagesse now aims to draw on the lessons learned from this experience to foster a similar approach in Bois-Marchand, Batterie Cassée and Baie du Tombeau, while recognising the specific needs and circumstances of each community.

“We firmly believe that communities thrive when their residents play an active role in shaping their own development. We fully embrace the principle of working with people in vulnerable situations, rather than simply working for them. The éclaireurs know their communities, their challenges, but also their strengths. By providing them with training and ongoing support, we want to strengthen their ability to take meaningful action for the benefit of their communities. When we work together, we can develop solutions that are more closely aligned with local realities and that make a lasting difference,” explains Viken Vadeevaloo, Foundation Manager at Fondation Joseph Lagesse.

The éclaireurs from Bois-Marchand, Batterie Cassée and Baie du Tombeau have already taken part in several working sessions focused on their role and assessing the needs of their communities. These discussions have given them an opportunity to share their local knowledge, identify key social challenges and begin defining the priorities they wish to address.

A training programme is currently being developed to equip them with the skills needed to fulfil their role. It will cover community development, communication and facilitation, community mobilisation, child protection, safeguarding, social inclusion, community leadership and conducting family visits. Fondation

Joseph Lagesse is committed to providing long-term support to help the éclaireurs become trusted local contacts for NGOs and government organisations delivering social services.

Brian Pitchen, Barkly’s first chef éclaireur (lead community champion) in 2000, reflects on the initiative: “Cité Barkly was the birthplace of community development efforts in response to the social challenges raised in Mauritius in 1999. Today, this initiative by the Fondation Joseph Lagesse not only takes a proactive approach in an increasingly complex social environment but also seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability of an initiative with meaningful impact. It also carries forward the vision of Jean-Noël Adolphe, a pioneer of community development in Mauritius who trained at the Coady Institute in Canada.”

The next phase will focus on formally establishing the community groups in Batterie Cassée, Baie du Tombeau, Bois-Marchand and Barkly, appointing community leaders and developing action plans for the next twelve months. These plans will translate the priorities identified by residents into concrete actions tailored to the needs of each community.

This initiative builds on Fondation Joseph Lagesse’s longstanding commitment to community development, one of its key areas of intervention. It marks a further step in the Fondation’s efforts to empower residents and help build more inclusive communities, where everyone has the opportunity to play an active role in shaping the changes that affect their lives.

It reflects the Fondation’s values of solidarity and inclusion and supports IBL Group’s purpose: “Shaping better lives and better tomorrows. Together.”