The Payen family will benefit from the support of the attorney general, Rama Valayden. Moved by the press article on the difficulties of this family that lives in a slum at Engrais Martial, the attorney general gave a bag full of provisions to this mother and promised to support her application for social housing.

One may wonder whether this is a move from a humanitarian or a purely political gesture. If some had thought the big cars and the rosy life of a minister might have caused him to lose his socialist soul, they may have been wrong. We prefer to believe that he has kept some of his inner values from the days when he started his career in the suburbs of Rose-Hill.

But I am wandering from the point. Today is the International Day for the eradication of poverty. And, whether some may like it or not, poverty exists in Mauritius. Like the Payen family, there must be hundreds waiting for someone to notice them and give them a helping hand. How much time did it take for the Payens to be noticed by the ‘Centre d’Education et de Développement de l’Enfant Mauricien’ (CEDEM)?

Because one thing leads to another, it was the help offered by CEDEM to this family that led to media coverage (‘l’express’, 12th October) and brought the minister to be touched by its poverty. There is no doubt that the minister showed much generosity and humanity by meeting Mrs Payen and offering his help. There is no doubt that this is great news for the Payen family who will finally have a chance to live with dignity. But what will happen to the other Payens of the country? Those who live in total exclusion and whose very existence we tend to forget…

Will Rama Valayden be able to do the same for all of those living with no water, no food and no electricity - sometimes leading to tragedies such as the death of a one-year old baby because of a candle burning in the house - in the same way? And this should be the duty of the government. Give the same chances to all. Give the same opportunities to everyone to get out of their difficulties and start anew. In that respect, the Empowerment Programme set up by the recent budget is a giant step towards giving people the means to lead a better life.

In May 2006, defenders of Human Rights came from all over the world to Montréal to adopt a “Declaration of solidarity”. This declaration is being circulated all over the world and will be transmitted to the United Nations and made public on 17th October 2007. It stipulates: “We want all citizens, local and national governments and the United Nations to consider the most vulnerable as the first actors of the fight against poverty, bring them in on the conception, setting up and assessment of policies regarding them (…).”

The example of the Payen family shows that the government wants to help those who really need it and that it is not indifferent to the fate of the most vulnerable. It also shows that collaboration between the government and NGOs can lead to positive actions. The government should continue working in that way. But instead of such specific collaboration – leading to selective aid – it should make sure it creates the framework to really help each and every person affected by poverty.