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Association for Population and Development

The aim of Association for People and Development is to promote population welfare and development through information, education, communication, marketing, capacity building, advocacy, research, providing service and partnership building. 

 The Members of the Association are professionals, social workers and community leaders with wide experience in dealing with men, women and children in situation of distress and living in poverty.

Through Networking and Partnership, the Association organises activities addressing various issues related to Women Development and Child Welfare and specifically on Sexual Abuse, Teenage Pregnancy, Sexual and Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender and Women Development.

The target populations are men, women and children considered most vulnerable and living in pockets of poverty. Our Professional Team constitutes of specialists in the field of Social and Community Development, Education, Medicine, Law, Communication and Digital Media, Psychology, Nutrition, Early Childhood Development, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Public Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender and Women Development, Programme Management, Policy and Strategic Development, Marketing and Economic Development, and Popular Culture.

 

A Strategic Plan has been developed to spell out the main objectives and activities of APD on the area of Sexual abuse and Children’s Welfare for five years.


Accreditation Number with the National Social Inclusion: NCSFR2017/0511

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President
Dr Sangeet Jooseery
Person in Charge
Chairman
Services offered
  • A Residential Care Institution (RCI) providing safe accommodation and holistic care for girls

 

  • From 2020 to date, APD has serviced more than 200 young girls.

 

  • Collaborate with local ministries and international organisations for welfare building. 

 

History

Since its establishment, APD has been actively engaged in improving the living conditions of vulnerable populations, particularly in the regions of Beau Bassin and Petite Rivière, through partnerships with civil society organisations and community-based interventions.

 

In 2013, APD began strengthening its outreach through collaboration with several NGOs. In partnership with the Mouvement pour le Progrès de la Confiance, APD organised recreational activities and distributed toys and gifts to children living in precarious conditions in Cité Chebel, Maingard, and Barkly (Beau Bassin) during the Christmas period.

 

In 2014, APD partnered with the Indo Mauritian Welfare Association of Beau Bassin to implement monthly counselling sessions for children from Chebel, 5th Mile, Mare Gravier, and Petite Rivière. This initiative aimed to encourage school attendance and reduce dropout rates among children from disadvantaged families. During these sessions, educational materials such as reading and writing supplies, donated by well-wishers, were distributed. APD also continued its annual Christmas support activities, including the distribution of gifts to children in 2014.

 

Over time, APD expanded its interventions to include protective and preventive programmes. Weekly self-defence classes were introduced at the premises of the Indo Mauritian Welfare Association for children from Chebel, Mare Gravier, Maingard, and La Confiance, with the objective of strengthening their ability to protect themselves against violence.

 

Alongside its community-based work, APD has played an active advocacy role. Its Chairman has regularly contributed to public debates on women’s empowerment, sexual violence, and abuse against women and children through media interventions, consistently calling for stronger legal protections for victims.

 

APD also introduced psychosocial support approaches, including yoga and meditation therapy, to assist victims of domestic violence and individuals experiencing psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.

Expansion of programs and national impact

 

With support from the National Social Integration Foundation, APD implemented a gender-based violence project across six vulnerable regions of Mauritius. The project combined operational research, awareness-raising, education, and advocacy, reaching more than 8,000 youth and women.

 

Between 2013 and 2018, APD also implemented a nationwide programme on intimate partner sexual violence, funded by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare. This initiative reached over 10,000 men and women across the island. In recognition of its contribution to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, APD received the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Award from the Prime Minister on 8 March 2018.

 

From 2019 to 2023, APD implemented the “Men as Caring Partners” project, which sought to enhance men’s engagement in family wellbeing and promote their active participation in gender equality processes.

 

Since 2020, APD has been managing a Residential Care Institution (RCI) for girls aged 7 to 18 who are survivors of sexual abuse and neglect. To date, more than 200 girls have benefited from this residential care and support services.

 

APD continues to rely on donors and well-wishers to sustain and expand its programmes. A five-year strategic plan has been developed to guide its interventions in the areas of child protection, sexual abuse prevention, and child welfare.

Objectives
  • To promote population welfare and development through information, education, communication, marketing, capacity building, advocacy, research, service provision and partnership building

 

Vision:

  • A Mauritian society free of any form of discrimination based on sex, religion, creed, race, colour and background and where men and women enjoy the highest level of economic, social and spiritual welfare and happiness.

 

Mission:

  • To advocate and promote the welfare of the citizens, especially the most vulnerable and the poor, with emphasis on women and children through the provision of right information, education, behavioural change-communication and services so as to enable them live a sustainable, healthy and happy life.
Main achievements
  • 2013 to 2018, APD reached over 10, 000 men and women through a nation-wide project "Intimate Partner Sexual Violence" that was funded by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare.  On 8 March 2018, APD was awarded the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Award by the Prime Minister in recognition of its significant contribution to advancing women’s empowerment in Mauritius.

 

  • 2019 to 2023, APD implemented another project aimed at promoting greater participation and involvement of men in enhancing family welfare and at getting the support of men in the process of gender equality named Men As Caring Partners.

 

  • Since 2020, APD has been managing a Residential Care Institution (RCI) for survivors of sexual abuse and neglect. To date, the institution has supported more than 200 girls.

 

 

Sources of funding
  • Government grants
  • Non-Governmental institutions
  • Private sector
  • Individual donors