(Seychelles News Agency) - Support and services for people living with disabilities in Seychelles are expected to be strengthened following the establishment of a cooperation programme between the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family and a French association, ALEFPA.

Through the formalisation of this collaboration, the island nation is expected to receive support that will lead to the wellness and well-being of not only people with disabilities but also elderly care.

ALEFPA, based in Reunion Island — an overseas department of France —serves children and adults with social difficulties or disabilities. It researches the best educational, social, and professional integration so that people do not suffer but can master them with dignity within a society.

It operates in several sectors, including medical-social, health, integration through economic activity, integration and social assistance for disabled children and adults, excluded people or people in social difficulty, and the elderly.

In a ceremony to formalise the cooperation recently, the Minister for Youth, Sports and Family, Marie-Celine Zialor, welcomed this initiative, saying the ministry will work with the association to implement projects and “to better understand the situation in order to better understand and how to really help us. You will definitely learn with us since each country's situation is different, and we, too, will learn with you.”

“Protection of victims of domestic violence and child protection still remains a subject in which we have a lot of room for improvement. It is a real plus for us to cooperate with a prestigious association which has so much experience in this field,” she said.

The minister added that the signing of the agreement would modernise the service provided to the public, including the elderly and people in less capable situations.

The signing of this agreement is expected to strengthen bilateral cooperation in terms of exchanges and technical support around issues related to elderly care, people with disabilities, victims of violence and youth protection. It will also promote exchanges in capacity building, training, technical support, and assistance with project writing.

François Cuvelier, vice president of ALEFPA, explained that during a visit to Reunion in November last year, the ministry discussed formalising the collaboration between the islands. Previously, ALEFPA did have some cooperation with the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean. This started in 2016 but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marco Gerry, director of the Disabled in the Family Department of the ministry, said that capacity building for instructors of Vocational Training Centre at the North East Point, which will soon be reopened, on how to better work with people with disabilities is expected through this agreement.

“As well as assisting the Elderly and Disabled Division in developing a curriculum and programme for the Vocational Training Centre, providing support with diagnosis in regards to a disabled person, and making exchange visits between the two islands,” explained Gerry.

The issue of exchanges is something that Cuvelier also spoke on, saying “It will allow Seychellois professionals from Seychelles to come to establishments in Reunion, for instance, for necessary training and expertise.”

Cathrina Savy, mother to a son who has developmental retardation, hopes that such collaboration also takes into consideration support and relevant services for parents and families of the less abled persons who are most of the time their primary caregiver.