<B>Loving and nursing children</B>

Valérie Bouic is a Mauritian born in England. The way she manages both French and Creole is wonderful, and she does not hesitate to communicate in either of these. When she was only eight years old, Valerie Bouic made up her mind she wanted to be a nurse. Maybe the care, the compassion and the friendliness she has towards others show that she has fulfilled her ambitions.

Today, she is 67 years of age, and despite her age, she is involved in five organisations: MACOSS (Mauritius Council of Social Service), SACIM (Society for Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius), Sponsor a Child, Tidiams (Type I Diabetes Mellitus Support) and the Red Cross. Valerie Bouic has been living in Mauritius for the last 42 years.

She arrived here in 1965. But then she and her husband moved to South Africa for two years. She really settled down when she came back to Mauritius in 1969. Soon, she could not bear sitting at home doing nothing. She decided to join the Red Cross. Today she is still involved in this association and has been chief nursing officer there since 1975. With the Red Cross, Valerie had much to do. Her main task was to supply their dispensaries here. But the Red Cross is only one of five organisations she is involved with. Indeed, she is also the honorary vice-chairperson of MACOSS.

Moreover, she is associated with two other NGOs: Sponsor a Child (finding sponsors for children in orphanages and institutions to help with their educational expenses) and Tidiams. Added to this, she works at SACIM as medical social worker. Through this organisation, she has escorted 40 children overseas as they could not have surgery in Mauritius. “SACIM is what has made my life very worthwhile. The children suffered from a variety of health problems such as hole-in-the-heart and brain tumours. It has been a pleasure for me to help Mauritian children. So far SACIM has done very good work. We see this in the recovery the children have made.”

Her Christian faith is important to her and has been the guiding influence in her life. She welcomes the chance to meet people of other faiths and is member of a Muslim-Christian discussion group. Although Valerie has a busy schedule, she manages to find time to do other things. But it would be impossible to talk about Valerie without mentioning her passion for singing. “I love singing. This is why I am part of a group called the Choral Singers. We do concerts here twice a year. I have been with them for more than ten years. I go to England every two years or so. Over there, I make it a point of listening to orchestral concerts.”

Apart from reading, she enjoys spending time with her husband and especially her six grandchildren. Valerie was born on 31st March 1939 in Brentwood, Essex, in the south-east of England six months before the start of the Second World War. She married Robert in 1964 and they have three children. She is well settled here with all her family round her and does not intend to move. “I would not leave here for anywhere else in the world. I love it here. Mauritius is such a beautiful country. I am not talking only about its physical side - the warmth of its inhabitants is equally remarkable...”