Madagascar School Project Blog

We are once again blessed with help! Last summer, a group of 4 university students came to Ambatoharanana to teach our teachers and students how to use their new laptop computers, generously granted to them by “One Laptop per Child” organization.

This year, I am pleased to announce that a young teacher from Glengarry, Canada, Miss Sadie St-Denis, will come for an entire month to offer camps to children and English lessons to teachers. Sadie is hard at work, raising money from family, friends and her church community, so that she can pay the expensive airline ticket over here. She will travel here on July 28th – 30th, but way of Amsterdam, Paris and London.

We are very lucky to have her, as she is a trained teacher, well experienced in teaching English, having taught English as a second language in Korea. She is also not a stranger to travel, and seems keen and flexible, ready for anything. She will arrive just in time to christen the new house for volunteers that is being constructed as I write.

The children ages 7 – 10 of Tenaquip School will enjoy two weeks of camp beginning Aug 2nd. They will come from 8 am – 3 pm each day and have soccer, computers, lunch and then more soccer before returning home with their computers in hand.

The children of Lova Soa will receive one week of camp, and then may have Sadie here a couple more days to play causally with them on the soccer pitch or with the computers. She will be a very popular person for that last week. We didn’t schedule any more camps for her as we wanted her to have a little time to herself to be a tourist, if she wishes. It is a long way to travel to see nothing but children, soccer balls and computers!

We are absolutely thrilled that Sadie has agreed to come. What started as a casual conversation at lunch in the staff room of Maxville Public School about Sadie’s desire to help in an underdeveloped country is about to become a reality! I salute the young folks of today who, although they struggle to find that first job, and to have enough money to afford a car, etc, still think of others and live out their desire to help.

- Kathy

The Tenaquip School was officially opened January 9, 2010 by the mayor, bishop, president of the township and the governmental representative of education for the area. Most of the people living in the five villages that make up the township came out to witness the big event. A plaque was mounted which announces that this school is made possible by the generous donations of the Tenaquip Foundation of Canada, and is a joint effort between the people of Glengarry and the community of Ambohiborosy.

The opening and celebration began at 9 am and continued until 3 pm with many speeches, and much eating, singing and dancing. People showed up in their Sunday best, despite the fact that the last kilometre of road into the school was completely washed out due to the rains. It was a treacherous ride for the big celebration cake which had to be carried in! Only the officials arrived in vehicles, however, as the village people travel everywhere on foot.

The 112 children were now ready to begin their education in a brand new school. Colourful desks and chairs greeted bodies which had never experienced the comfort of a chair, other than a church pew. Most homes have neither a table or a chair, and people sit on logs, or stones outside. The children quickly showed their ability and intelligence as they began their formal learning, got used to the routines of school and arrived each day at least a half hour before school began. The flags are raised on Monday morning ( the Canadian flag flies alongside the Malagasy flag), and the children sing their National anthem. This process is repeated every Friday, as one lucky child gets to be the one to lower the flags.

As a kitchen was not yet built, the parents put together a make shift kitchen area protected from the ferocious winds by a tarpaulin strung around. Two mothers took charge of the meals, cooked on a fire in the middle of a ring of rocks, and provided a nutritious meal each day for all the children to eat in their classrooms.

One cannot help but be struck by the incredible respect that these children show to each other and to their elders. If one was to walk into the room while the class was in progress, the whole class of children would rise to their feet and chant “Good Morning Madame Kathy”. If one is to ask “How are you” they will respond all together with “I am very well thank you and you?” They stay standing until they are invited to sit down, and then they all chant “Thank you” and get seated again. As the teacher hands out the copy books, they hurry to the front when their name is called and sing a thank you to the teacher. When they do a lengthy response, (i.e., counting to 100 by 5’s) they stand to speak. As they pass to come in the door to class, they say “Excuse me”, and bend down with a hand making way in front of them. If a child answers a question well, the rest of the class will chant “Good job, good job, Tsiry (the name of child) and the child will respond “thank you”. They are also very shy, as a people, and my first visit is usually met with smiles and giggles from down-turned heads. They sneak a peak at me when I am not looking at them. If a child arrives late to school, they pause in the doorway. The class all stand up and greet the new arrival at which point he/she says “Good morning teachers and my friends.” They respond with “Come in and join us”. It is all quite refreshing to see. It feels much like the way it was in Canada perhaps 50 years ago or more.

I stand there watching all this, over flowing with joy. It is almost too wonderful to believe!

- Kathy

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Mr. Charles, the chairperson of the committee in charge of the Tenaquip School. Mr Charles, the 64 year old president of the township, died suddenly at his home on June 4th 2010. He lived long enough to see his dream come true, that of having a school in his township, and all the local children in attendance.

On the Friday of his death he had worked the morning at the school, organizing the parents to clear the land adjacent to the school so that the children would have a play ground. When he started to feel poorly, he walked the hour to Alatsinaina, the neighboring village, to see the doctor. Unfortunately all we know is that the doctor sent him home, and he died as he reached his home, after climbing up the mountain on which his house sits. At that time, knowing nothing of her husband’s illness, his wife, Madame Honore was working in the family rice field.

Mr Charles had a dream -  to have a school in his neighbourhood, so that all children could receive an education. He wrote a formal ‘demande’ which included statistics of the number of families, ages of all the residents, number of homes etc., and sent it to the mayor in 2007 in the hopes that somehow the state would take his plea seriously.

Nothing happened until I met with the mayor one day, and he told me of this remote village. When I went to visit, I was greeted by Mr Charles who said that the town would all work together to help us, if it would be possible to have a school. I told him that I would speak to our Madagascar School Project Board in Canada and see if there was any chance of us working together. Mr Charles immediately struck up a committee of six men and women to oversee the work, found a site for us to build on, found the land owners and got their permission for us to buy the land from them. The rest is history. It has been an honour to work with Mr Charles and we are forever grateful for his enthusiasm, energy and his vision.

- Kathy

The students at Lova Soa continue to thrive. Most came to school for more than half the summer to work on their computers at computer camp and in their spare time after camp finished. They are healthy and happy. Parents are working in the garden and have a good fellowship going so that before the American students left, they organized a thank you get together with gifts bought by and with contributions from the parents.

We have found huge spin offs in the lives of the children, as for example, we are not seeing the foot parasites or infections from cuts as we saw in the past, as the parents have been taught by our village doctor during sessions at the school, how to care for these things. Knowing that they have access to a doctor now, has had the effect of increased vigilance among parents in regard to the health of their youngsters. As well, the children are showing their parents how these magical computers work, which has earned them a new respect in their families.

Students With OLPCs

We expand our student population this year to include 12ieme (last pre-school grade), and have 87 students registered for this year, which starts on October 12th. We have decided not to expand in a physical sense and will maintain our present buildings for this year, as we are, as yet, unable to have total independence in the decision making process surrounding Lova Soa. We are working on an agreement with the college, which owns the land on which our school is built and will hopefully expand next year. We have decided to not include the 3 year old, petite section this year, so that we can keep all our present students and not be too crowded. It is felt that we can serve the population best this way, and will receive these children as four year olds, next year.

On September 21st we began our teacher preparation for the new year and resumed our English lessons for two hours a day at Lova Soa. We have approximately 11 people who come to all the English lessons regularly. These people are staff of our school as well as other teachers in the area.

October 12th is the first day of this school year, and we’ve been busy waxing floors, washing tables and chairs and generally brightening up the school in preparation for the opening day of year two of Lova Soa.

parents working

It is such a different atmosphere this year! The excitement and nervousness of last year’s opening is replaced by a feeling of fellowship and caring among our parents and students. The families know what is expected of them in the gardens and they have a great sense of pride and ownership in their little school. They come by regularly to care for their plots, to visit and find out what’s new. Children are here all day playing on the computers, as long as I am here to supervise. If I am away, they play on the slide, fly their kites, or sit and play their form of a game of jacks using stones and no ball. In short, everyone is at home here and it is so good to see!

School Children

We look forward to welcoming English speaking teachers who wish to enjoy a new cultural experience while volunteering here at our little school.

The May 11th 2009 Madagascar School Project Benefit Dinner and Silent auction was the hottest ticket in town. In fact, tickets sold out and people were being turned away. How inspiring it was to be in a room of spirited people united by a common cause. With such ‘do-good’ energy, I felt that if they asked, we could have given the children of Sekoly Lovasoa the moon. All were having a grand time whether they were nibbling on the assortment of hor d’oeurves, were listening to the talented harpist Ian Hepburn, or were joining the busy kids at the children’s table. The auction table which featured many Malagasy handicrafts as well as contributions from local artisans drew much admiration and favourable comments. With epicurean delights such as shiitake mushroom, Riesling and chicken ragout and salad of baby field greens with green goddess dressing, many diners returned for seconds. The evening was a celebration of the year’s accomplishments.

Silent Auction Item

At the first 2008 dinner, all Kathy had to show the audience was a plot of land and dreams. This year’s presentation was a photo essay of dreams becoming a reality. The plot of land now has several buildings and more importantly has become a center for impoverished children to flourish. Kathy also shared how the school has positively impacted the community by providing employment, revenue for local stores, and professional immigration. Most significantly, the children have become the mediators of change. They are learning English and are now teaching it to their families as well as to how to read and write. To all who have contributed time, energy, and money to make the dream a reality, be proud of yourselves. Together we have made a significant contribution to this world. Based on what we have already accomplished, imagine where we can go. Sky’s the limit. We are changing the future, one child at a time.

Kathy Presenting

We tip our hats to…
The dinner was a great success. Over $6500 was raised. Many thanks are owed to the following locals who also contributed to the auction table: Gill Strudwick, Clive Bebbington, Jacqueline Milner of Imagine-ine Photography, Ruth Stanton, Jillian Hogan, Levac Apiaries, Auld Kirktown Craft and Gift Shoppe, and the Lancaster Dairy Queen. Many thanks to those who spent Friday afternoon readying the hall for this auspicious event. You know who you are and you all did a fantastic job. You are going to be hard pressed to outdo yourselves next year. As in 2008, a standing ovation is once again due to Chef Julia Graham and the students of the Hospitality and Tourism program at the Glengarry District High School. Talk about children helping children! The food was fantastic. Professional restaurateurs couldn’t have done a better job preparing for 180 plates. I suspect people will want to come to next year’s dinner if only for the food. Thank you to Ian Hepburn for providing the lovely background music. Thank-you to the MC Warren Everson guiding the evening activities. How can I forget the technical perfection of Barry Lucking. Barry put together the captivating video presentation and only he could make head or tails of that rat’s nest of wires behind the podium. Now would be a good time to mention that Barry is Kathy’s husband and is the rock she and the MSP depends on. How many loving husbands would be willing to sacrifice their time with their wives for strangers on the other side of the globe? Here’s to Barry. Cheers!

See photos from the event
See a video from the event