Fishermen from several villages of the South-East coast of the island will soon benefit from a vast support program initiated by Caritas and financed by MOL (Mauritius) Ltd. As a reminder, MOL (Mauritius) Ltd is the local branch of Mitsui OSK Lines, the Japanese shipping company that had leased the Wakashio shortly before its sinking.
The aid program began last February and was officially launched this Wednesday at Grande-Rivière Sud-Est, Camp des Pêcheurs, in the presence of the Japanese ambassador to Mauritius, Shuichiro Kawaguchi, the director of MOL (Mauritius) Ltd, Goro Yamashita, the president and secretary-general of Caritas, Patricia Adèle-Félicité, as well as representatives of the fishing families of the region.
This project, which is implemented by two fishermen’s cooperatives and Caritas Bel-Air, includes several components: material support to fishermen, training for the adoption of alternative means of subsistence, and finally an educational component to assist students with school difficulties in the region. The villages concerned are Trou d’Eau Douce, Grande Rivière Sud-Est, Camp des Pêcheurs, Deux-Frères, Quatre-Sœurs, Bois des Amourettes and Bambous Virieux. A study was conducted beforehand to identify the families in difficulty and their most urgent needs.
Thus, fishing equipment (fish and lobster traps, nets, fishing lines) will be provided to 92 professional fishermen, 100 families will be trained to cultivate a vegetable garden and raise chickens, and 115 schoolchildren will receive tutoring, equipment and uniforms.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, the Japanese ambassador stressed that “Japan is also an island country and a large part of its population depends on the sea for their livelihood. We are fully aware of the difficulties that fishermen, fishmongers and many other operators who depend on the sea for their daily income may face.”
For his part, addressing the fishermen families present in French, the director of MOL (Mauritius) Ltd maintained that “We are aware of the damage that this incident has caused you, and that is why it was very important for MOL to support Caritas Mauritius in this project”.
Patricia Adèle-Félicité explained that “several months after the sinking of the Wakashio, the branch of Caritas in Bel-Air found that several fishing families in the area were still left behind, and were going through very difficult times”.
The Caritas secretary general is especially pleased with MOL’s concrete commitment to these families and its involvement on the ground through regular monitoring, as well as sending experts to assist the fishermen and Caritas social workers. “They don’t just bring their funding, but a real commitment on the ground. This is very encouraging,” says Patricia Adèle-Félicité.
The support program will focus on providing these families with the means to get out of their difficult situation on their own. For example, the fishermen themselves have made their own traps with the materials provided to them, thus benefiting from paid work days while equipping themselves for the resumption of fishing.
It should be noted that the MOL Charitable Trust was established on June 21 with the aim of supporting communities in the South East and Mauritius through other social and environmental projects and support to other associations involved in the region. The foundation is expected to continue MOL’s work in the region for the next five to six years.
