Martine de Souza, from Mauritius, was a VCU Humphrey Fellow in the 2013-14 cohort studying substance abuse education, treatment, and prevention.  Recently Martine spoke at the Global Leadership Forum (GLF) in Washington, D.C. as part of an alumni panel.  We caught up with Martine at the GLF regarding her current work.

VCU: Tell us a bit about your current position and work in Mauritius.  

Martine:  I am the of Head of Social Inclusion for a group of multi-national companies, IBL. Since 2017 I have run the day-to-day operations of the foundation, and supervise a team of 7 persons.  The foundation oversees corporate social responsibility programs to reduce poverty in Mauritius in a sustainable manner.  We work with communities who are poor, and many have high levels of violence and drug trafficking.  Access to services, like education and healthcare, is a big challenge in the communities that we serve. Teen-age pregnancy and intimate partner violence also are prevalent in these localities.

VCU:  What are some of the programs IBL oversees?

Martine:  We established a free pre-primary school in one community that serves children 3- 5 years old.  We also run parenting programs, and are getting ready to launch a day care for children under age 3. We have provided bathrooms for families so that individual families would not have to share a toilet with other families, which was very important to giving families a sense of dignity.  And we established a social housing community beginning with 16 2- and 3-bedroom homes that has allowed people to get out of poverty.

VCU:  What would you say are some of your biggest achievements?

Martine:  There are several highlights. The foundation has allowed youth from low-income families to receive an education.  There are now several professionals – doctors, lawyers, pilots, social workers – who came from these communities.  But my greatest satisfaction has come when community members tell me they feel hope, they feel heard, they are taken seriously, that they matter.

VCU:  Describe how completing the Humphrey Fellowship program has impacted your work. What were some key elements of the program that you found most useful?

Martine:  I learned from each of my experiences during the fellowship.  My thinking about systems and how systems need to change really began during my fellowship. Workshops on creating change and on fund raising were particularly useful.  And I am very grateful to Dr. Randy Koch (former coordinator at VCU) who supported me, listened to me, and helped me to think critically about what I wanted to do when I returned home.

VCU:   What is next on the horizon for you?

Martine: My position at IBL is about to change.  I am moving into a consultant role and will turn over the day-to-day responsibility for the programs to another manager.  I recently founded a company, Radiant Communities, and will be providing services to companies in my role heading that company.

VCU:  What advice would you give to new cohorts of Humphrey Fellows?

Martine: We all are driven by a purpose but there is no one answer to a problem.  Think about the one thing that is central to your goals, then put your creativity into the service of others. 

VCU:  Thank you.