This is the story of a remarkable woman, Sandra Jatoonah from Mauritius, who earned a Master’s degree in Social Development in South Africa, and returned to her home country to offer social services to disadvantaged families.
With financial support from MMEG, Sandra completed a Master’s degree at the University of Cape Town in 2013. Upon graduation, she returned to Mauritius determined to make a difference in the lives of others. During her first year back home, she worked with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as a labour migration and client service assistant. Through IOM’s various programmes, Sandra provided support to locals who were stranded abroad, assisting their repatriation and reintegration into society after they returned to Mauritius. Many were women, some with children, who were very grateful to return with IOM support. Sandra also supported workers and their families who were leaving to work abroad, helping with applications for entry visas and training to help them adapt to life in a new country.
Sandra then worked for four and a half years at the Decentralised Cooperation Programme (DCP), funded by the European Union (EU), facilitating the distribution of EU grants to non-profit organizations and ensuring the funds were properly used to implement social development projects. Her work at the DCP gave Sandra the opportunity to monitor projects of various NGOs and non-state actors in Mauritius and its surrounding islands, while also providing training in project implementation, follow-up and budgeting. Some of these programs were focused on women’s empowerment, assistance for people with disabilities, women’s health, agriculture, water harvesting, and education.
With this deep understanding of the landscape of social service organizations in Mauritius, in 2018 Sandra joined Lovebridge, a local non-profit that provides services to vulnerable populations and aims to reduce extreme poverty, as a senior social worker.
Sandra now works closely with about twenty, mostly female headed, households in the most impoverished rural areas, giving them guidance to access the available social services that will support their empowerment end eventual economic independence. Her work with each family addresses six fundamental pillars: – education, housing, health, employment, food & nutrition and MASCO (motivation, attitude, skills and courage). Issues Sandra commonly faces are the lack of basic amenities (electricity, sanitation), illiteracy, the emotional and physical abuse of women and children, disabilities, health issues, and often the advanced ages of key household members that make finding adequate employment very difficult. Helping family members find adequate employment is a crucial service, among others, that Sandra provides.
With its holistic and multifaceted approach to family support, Sandra believes her work with Lovebridge can make a real difference. With time and consistent support, she hopes the families under her guidance and care will graduate from Lovebridge programs and lift themselves out of extreme poverty.
