L’AUTHENTIQUE BEAUTÉ At the Beachcomber school, Anne-Laure came into her own. In her attitude and in her words, as modest as they are conscientious, the young girl’s portrait takes shape. À l’école Beachcomber, Anne-Laure s’est révélée. Dans son attitude comme dans ses propos, aussi pudiques que consciencieux, se dessine le portrait de la jeune fille. BY FANNY RIVA PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION Anne-Laure, 18, sits daintily on the edge of a chair in the restaurant. The breakfast service is over. She has applied a little mascara and a touch of lip gloss. “I wasn’t used to wearing make-up. Here, I was encouraged to use it and shown how to apply it.” She speaks of the women in her life, her grandmothers who passed on their love of cooking, her mother, who taught children with autism and with whom she lived in close harmony, the school that she left at the age of 14, only to feel lonely and withdraw into herself. It was her mother who saw the advertisement on Facebook. The Fondation Espoir Développement Beachcomber, created in 1999, manages several remarkable projects, including the Projet Employabilité Jeunes (Youth Employability Project, PEJ). For 20 years, the PEJ has been helping young people with academic difficulties to enter a profession. Every year, nearly 300 girls and boys are trained in the catering industry. Anne-Laure applied. In six months her life changed completely. “The most difficult thing was to leave my mother and learn to work in a team. I am quite solitary and shy. I learned to cope and managed to be more independent,” she says with a smile. A HELPING HAND At the end of her theory lessons (refresher courses in French and English, lessons in etiquette and deportment, learning how to work in the hospitality industry), AnneLaure was preparing to do a 3-month work placement with her classmates at Paradis Beachcomber. The day before, her teacher told her she would be going alone to join the team at La Goélette, the gastronomic restaurant in the legendary Royal Palm. “I was speechless, stunned and at the same time petrified.” But she had Anne-Laure Banan TRUE BEAUTY not reckoned on the kindness of Madame Sarah-Jane and Monsieur Ganessen, her mentors, who, in the whirlwind of the peak tourist season, guided her first steps in serving and setting up tables. After her work experience, AnneLaure became a Beachcomber Artisan and joined the team permanently. Tomorrow, it will be her turn to greet the new PEJ graduates. Time to get back to work. She delicately adjusts her hair tied back in a bun. Her humble and natural grace, her loyalty to her team and her sense of anticipation make Anne-Laure an essential part of the team. The Mauritians use the word otentik. Anne-Laure, 18 ans, s’assied délicatement sur le bord d’une chaise dans la salle du restaurant. Le service du petit déjeuner est fini. Elle a appliqué un peu de mascara et un léger trait de gloss. « Je n’avais pas l’habitude de me maquiller. Ici, on m’y a invitée et montré comment faire. » Elle dit les femmes de sa vie, ses grands-mères qui lui ont “I AM QUITE SOLITARY AND SHY. I LEARNED TO COPE AND MANAGED TO BE MORE INDEPENDENT.” « JE SUIS PLUTÔT SOLITAIRE ET TIMIDE. J’AI PRIS SUR MOI ET J’AI RÉUSSI À GAGNER EN AUTONOMIE. »
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