Our Victoria Named In Honor Of A Great Queen!

Time can dull the senses or memories. Thank goodness then for recorded history. 22 January 2010 marked 109years since the passing of the great queen, Her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria, Queen of The United Kingdom & Ireland, and first Empress of India under the British Raj.


House of Hanover Crest

At the time of her rule Seychelles was a British colony. Despite the fact that she never actually set foot onto the islands, every Seychellois home and office at the time had a photo of her hanging on the wall in her honor. This tradition continued well into the establishment of the 1st Republic on 29th June 1976, however at this time the photo of a royal had been updated to portray Her Royal Majesty. Queen Elizabeth II. I remember fondly walking into the shops in downtown Victoria, or my grandmother's house and looking up to see a portrait of 'QEII'. As you can now guess our capital was in fact named after the late great queen and in a small way by mentioning her today, I pay my respects to her memory and her reign which at one time involved subjects residing in parts Africa, India, Canada, parts of China, and islands and holdings scattered throughout the globe - 1/4 of the world's population at the time.

So here is to the late queen, Queen Victoria. Your memory lives on and in your honour our capital city was named after you.


A View Of Victoria - Mahe, Seychelles
Visit the Seychelles soon and take the time to visit Victoria, taking in the sights and learning a bit of our very interesting history.

Seychellois Step Up To Help Haiti

Many people from different parts of the islands have either called in at the Red Cross office or sent their contributions. Volunteers from the Red Cross Youth were also at the ready with collection boxes in Victoria last Saturday morning.

One lady who contributed her savings for those affected in Haiti said: “My husband and I wanted to do something and wish that we could be there to provide at least some milk to those in need.

“We know that our contributions will at least help one or two people there; it is something that comes from within – compassion for a fellow human being.”

An RCSS spokesperson said: “I guess this is what it is all about – compassion for those affected in Haiti and bringing about the idea of togetherness, especially during bad times. This is Red Cross values at work in Seychelles.

“We received numerous phone calls from people wanting to help and donate not only cash but clothing, while others wanted to know if there was an opportunity to help on-site with their professional expertise such as medical and psycho-social help, debris clearance etc.”

The public’s strong response to the appeal may be a result of the similarity in our languages, since Seychelles and Haiti are both Creole-speaking countries, the RCSS said.

Whatever the reasons, it is important to know that something positive has indeed come out of this whole disastrous situation, it added.

Meanwhile, the RCSS is still collecting contributions, and donation boxes have been placed in other businesses and organisations such as banks, private clinics and shops. Courtesy - Seychelles Nation

Our Creole Cousins In Haiti.... Our Thoughts & Prayers

Indeed I was all set after the Christmas period and allowing for the excitement of the New Year's events to taper down to update the blog about UniqueSeychelles when the tragedy of events unfolded in Haiti. I will of course pause for now allowing time and a moment as our thoughts and prayers are with our Creole cousins. We pray that the reports of massive casualties are wrong and that the world can unite to assist rapidly and rescue those in need. Debout avek couraz nou ban kousin! Please if you are able to assist kindly do, by any means.