About Us
Abaim is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1982. The association origins from a support group which was established to help blind workers from Lois Lagesse Centre, who went on strike and occupied their workplace in 1982. In 2020, our was accredited by the Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Since its inception, making human rights work for people has been the main objective of the organisation. ABAIM firmly believes in democracy and any struggles which betters society at large.
Gradually Abaim has seen the importance of caring for vulnerable children.
Since1995, the organisation has set up a project called “Saturday Care” where children have the opportunity to express themselves through free speech, storytelling, play, music and various other creative ways.
Through these actions and activities ABAIM has become a reference in term of intangible cultural heritage, production of pedagogical material in creole language and musical creations in Mauritius. ABAIM is also active in other regions like Le Morne and Grand Bay.
Mission
Contribute, through social, economic, psycho-pedagogical and cultural action, to the advancement of vulnerable people, especially children and the blind, with the great participation of parents in the country.
Vision
A society in which people, from infancy to adulthood, have the opportunity to live their lives in harmony with dignity, without discrimination.
In 2020, Abaim became the first non-governmental organisation of the Republic of Mauritius to be accredited to the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003. This happened as a result of the level and quality of Abaim’s actions in the field of ICH since its very existence. In concrete terms, it means that the organisation has always promoted the various forms of cultural expression the common people have used to express themselves to grow and develop.
We have been very prolific in the field of collecting, safeguarding and disseminating elements of traditional culture in orality through our struggle in favour of the recognition of our mother tongue, the creole language, music in general but the sega tipik in particular, fabrication of traditional musical instruments such as the ravann, maravann and triangle, olden play and games, songs, dance and presentation of musicals and performances.
This recognition from the UNESCO has enhanced the work of Abaim both at local and international levels. Our participation in international forums, workshops and festivals are highly appreciated.
Since 2023, our representative at the NGO Forum presides over a working committee which aims at addressing geographical imbalance in the organisation and which affects regions such as Africa and Latin America.