SCCI adds support to Miss Seychelles’ beauty with a purpose project |04 July 2015

The Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has pledged to seek support from its members to finance the construction of a children’s playground at the Montagne Posée prison.

The children’s playground, which is a major component of Miss Seychelles Linne Freminot’s beauty with a purpose project entitled ‘Children’s restoration’, will cost around R96,000.

The reigning Miss Seychelles met Marco Francis, chairman of the SCCI, Juliette Sicobo-Azais, SCCI’s secretary general and Nadine Télémaque, personal assistant trade promotion officer, to present her project and seek the association’s support. After giving a brief overview of her project and a breakdown of the cost, Mr Francis said the association will get “its members on board” to give either financial aid or provide in kind support for the building of the children’s playground.

Miss Seychelles … Another World Linne Freminot said the playground would allow the offenders to have more quality time with their children during visiting hours.

Giving inmates quality time with their children

The building of the children’s playground at the Montagne Posée Prison has been one of Miss Freminot’s greatest dreams. Since beginning her reign, Linne has been knocking on doors to get financial support to have the playground built before October, so that she can carry that success with her to the Miss World pageant in China.

The project was conceived by prison department but had remained dormant because of a lack of financial support.

Linne’s children’s restoration project and her willingness to use her title to gather funds for the children’s playground have received the blessing of Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne.

She has also undertaken site visits to the Montagne Posée prison and has met key representatives at the home affairs department to drive the construction forward.

Linne remarked that it hasn’t been easy to gather the total sum of R96,000 for the project and that with the SCCI coming on board to give its backing, it’s value added to the building of the children’s playground.

The next step … setting up an association

 Linne is now thinking of setting up an association to gather funds for the children’s restoration project. During her meeting with Mr Francis she was advised that having a registered association would go a long way to advancing her children’s restoration project.

After the building of the children’s playground, Linne wants to move to the next step. With Father Brian as her mentor and counsellor, superintendent Maxime Tirant as a close collaborator and Louisna Neamtu as a support for the children’s restoration project, Linne has already been introduced to three children whose mothers are offenders. Linne also had a chance to meet the mothers and listen to their pains of being separated from their children.

“All they want is to be united with their children,” said Linne. “The offenders have shown remorse for their actions. Their only hope is to maintain a good behaviour while in prison and earn sentence reduction,” she added.

Linne said during the time the offenders are serving their sentences, children of the offenders should feel there are people in the community willing to help them.

She said she is planning, in the coming months, to meet other children whose parents are in prison, to understand their needs and spend some quality time with them.

Through the setting up of her association, she plans to collect funds to cater for their needs.

“When you reward these children for something good they’ve done in school, at home or in the community they feel there are people out there who love and care for them,” said Linne.

She added that she will try to rally former recipients of the Miss Seychelles … Another World title to join her association so as to bring her beauty with a purpose project to the next level.

Linne explained that even after handing over the crown to her successor, she will keep on working for these children.