Case Study: Caritas Mauritius

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I would love to officially express my heartfelt gratitude to the excellent group of staff at Caritas Mauritius. Granting me the profitable chance of putting into practice my public relations learning within their organisation necessitated some noticeable effort from their behalf.

Special thanks to Mrs Patricia Adèle-Félicité, secretary general of Caritas Mauritius for giving me the opportunity to gather a first-hand experience in a professional milieu and to make me feel like an esteemed colleague.

My special gratitude goes to my supervisor, Mr Josian Labonté, responsible of the Functional Literacy Programme for his fastidious supervision to complete the job flawlessly and for ensuring I get the full benefit

1.2 Vision

Caritas has voiced its vision as ‘‘An integral and integrated development of human beings’’ (‘‘Caritas Ile Maurice – Exclusion’’ 2016).

1.3 Core values

The NGO core values are classified as ‘‘ending neediness, promoting equity and re-establishing self-worth’’ (‘‘Caritas’’ 2016).

1.4 Organisational structure

Caritas is constituted of three spheres:

Care and Support

Care and Support comprises of 50 advisory and development centres in the areas, and two night covers for the destitute. Besides, the Hope Inn which is a transitory flat for families with lodging issues, and a learning community giving instructive support to youngsters and grown-ups (‘‘Caritas – Where we are’’

However, applying the key components I have been taught in Public Relations studies when drafting a press release, i.e. the 5W’s and H, having an appealing headline and following the inverted pyramid model was really helpful. Starting with the most important and pertinent information at the top of the press release and progressing with the least important information was a powerful concept to create interest and to convey a message to the media. It was mandatory to use the proper format as the press spend at least three seconds choosing whether a public statement merits perusing, hence it is fundamental that all the information is displayed at the start to hook the media in.

Moreover, applying photos in press releases is becoming a vital part of public relations. Including a professional photo not only embellishes the news, but generates visibility for the organization’s story as well. It makes the story stand out from the mass of outlets the media is receiving on a daily basis.

Daily phone