Listen to the voices of Mauritius

Training helps octopus fisher build a better life
Lima Casimir is a 52 year old and a "piqueuse ourite" - an octopus fisher - who lives on the island of Rodrigues 640 kilometres off the island of Mauritius.
Lima's day starts at 5.30 am when she takes her son's boat to go to her breath-taking 'office' - a vast lagoon that opens onto the Indian Ocean. Her office furniture includes a boat and the magnificent coral reefs. To catch the octopus, she uses an iron rod which she wears around her shoulder. The IFAD-funded Rural Diversification Programme trained Lima in how to catch octopus without damaging the coral reefs.
Source: IFAD
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How a poor islander became a local leader
Maryline Legoff is a rural entrepreneur. She is 35 years old and a single mother with a 5-year-old son. Maryline lives on the island of Rodrigues, 640 kilometers off the island of Mauritius. For Maryline and the 38,000 people who live on Rodrigues, fishing is a way of life. But their livelihoods are threatened by declining fish stocks.
Source: IFAD
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A second chance for Danette

The future seemed bleak and directionless for the 600 illiterate Rodriguean adolescents who did not continue their education after finishing primary school. Danette, now 17, was one of those adolescents in Rodrigues, an island located 574 km east of Mauritius.

She failed the end of primary education examinations (CPE) twice, despite spending six years in primary school. She was unable to read or write and found herself at home all day with few prospects.
Source: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
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