Girls Leading Our World

Last week seven Peace Corps Volunteers from the Androy and Anôsy regions of Madagascar came together to hold a 'Girls Leading Our World' (GLOW) camp in Fort-Dauphin. Twenty-three girls participated in the camp, which was facilitated by the PCVs with the support of six Malagasy chaperones. The five-day camp provided these promising young girls with the opportunity to learn about leadership and gender equality, as well as develop the skills they will need to become leaders and role models in their communities.

Day One

The first day of camp opened with a walking tour of Fort-Dauphin led by some of our friends from the English Center of Fort-Dauphin. Many of the girls from the remote Androy region had never visited the city before, so for them the tour was an eye-opening experience. The tour ended at the Fasamainty cultural center, where the girls learned about QMM's famous ilmenite mine just north of the city.

Campers during the walking tour of Fort-Dauphin

In the afternoon PCVs and chaperones led sessions about gender equality and self-esteem. The campers learned about the difference between biological sex and culturally-defined gender roles, and that they should feel confident in themselves and their skills. These sessions set the stage for the central message of the camp: that women can and should be successful, active members of their communities.

Day Two

Our second day of GLOW camp began with a tour of the QMM mine and the Mandena Nature Reserve, which was set up by QMM/Rio Tinto. After lunch the girls met with a career panel featuring successful Malagasy women working in the fields of government, development, health, and business. These women told their stories and gave the girls advice about how to pursue their dreams.

GLOW campers meet the career panel

Day Three

Day three focused on health. In the morning a group of trainers from Population Services International (PSI) gave a presentation on HIV/AIDS, STIs, and birth control. In the afternoon the girls met with our chaperones and the female PCVs for a frank discussion about sex and relationships, something which is often a taboo subject in Malagasy society. Our last session of the day featured a presentation from the local organization Trano Aro Zo on the rights of women and children.

After a long day of rather serious discussions, the girls were ready for a break. That evening we organized an American-style slumber party, complete with soda, popcorn, and a movie.

PSI trainers teach the girls about HIV/AIDS

Day Four

The penultimate day of GLOW camp focused on giving the girls useful life skills. A representative from PACT gave a presentation on leadership, and another woman from the micro-finance organization FIVOY taught the campers about financial management.

Financial Management: a camper presents her team's proposed budget for the months of April and May

Day Five

The final day of GLOW camp began with a trip to the English Center of Fort-Dauphin, where the girls met with students and teachers and learned about the English language resources available in the city. This was followed by a trip to the famous Libanona beach. After a quick trip to the market to buy gifts for their families (giving away gifts after a trip is a Malagasy tradition), the girls met with a representative from Peace Corps, who explained the organization's history, goals, and methods.

After this came our closing ceremony, where the girls received their completion certificates and gave brief speeches about what they learned at camp. The PCVs were also presented with a gift of traditional Tandroy wicker hats. Several girls from the village of Ambanisarika then performed the traditional Tandroy dance. After this things quickly escalated, and soon everyone was dancing. The dance party continued well into the evening, as the girls celebrated the successful completion of camp with their new friends.

GLOW girls dancing on the last night

May Update

World Malaria Day

April 25^th was world Malaria day. For this occasion many volunteers in our region headed to Fort-Dauphin, where another volunteer was organizing the city's second annual World Malaria Day festival. The two-day event was a huge success, reaching around 900 people with education about how to prevent and treat this terrible disease.

The first day's event took place at the Fort-Dauphin town hall and was attended by hundreds of students from local schools. In addition to information stands set up by various local health organizations, two PCVs helped a local soccer coach lead a 'grassroots soccer' activity, which uses soccer to teach children about malaria. In the evening we screened a movie about malaria prevention (from USAID and PSI) for the public.

The next day we headed to the rural town of Ampasy Nahampoana. In addition to more education about malaria prevention and treatment, free malaria tests were made available to any interested community members. Thirty people tested positive for malaria, and were provided with free treatment.

For more information about this event, check out the organizing volunteer's blog:

https://malagasymusings.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/miady-aminny-tazo-moka-fighting-against-malaria/

Schoolhouse Reconstruction

With all of the materials now purchased, we've finally begun construction on the schoolhouse here in Ambondro! The laborers have been hard at work tearing down the old, damaged parts of the building and preparing it for construction. They've also begun using the cement we purchased to make bricks. Things are well ahead of schedule, and if all goes well we'll be finished with construction by the end of this month!

For your viewing pleasure, I've included a few pictures of the work we've completed so far:

The Schoolhouse

Bricks being prepared for the schoolhouse.

Sand provided by the community. Cactus is used for security.

Tearing out old support bars.

School Project Begins

Thanks to the many generous people and organizations that donated to my classroom rehabilitation project, we were able to get full funding well before we'd anticipated!

During the month of March the community was busy getting all of their contributions to the project ready – sand, wood, water, etc. They also tore down the remnants of the old roof and got the site ready for construction.

I spent last weekend in Ambovombe (the regional capital) running around with my counterpart Josoah trying to organize the purchase and transport of all of the construction materials. It was no small order: 156 sheets of metal roofing, 57 iron bars, 44 wooden planks, and 92 sacks of cement, 6 metal sheets, and 20 kilos of nails. The purchase of all the materials went smoothly, but the transportation proved to be a much more complicated issue.

The transport of the materials was being provided for free – the Chef CISCO (the head of the school district) just needed to provide the gasoline for the truck. There were some issues at first with the cost of gas and finding a driver, but with the help of the CISCO we were able to work it out. After two days of delays, we were back at the hardware store loading up all of the materials. Me, Josoah, and the Chef CISCO were all very excited to see the project that we'd been preparing for so long coming to fruition! It was already night by the time we made it to Ambondro, but a bunch of local guys were waiting to help us unload everything.

Now we're almost ready to begin construction. The last few items – some local wood and gravel – are still being collected. Hopefully by next week we'll be able to start!

Materials loaded up and ready to go

Future Plans, Present Projects

Hey there internets!

Extension

After months of weighing my options, applications, and interviews, it's finally official - I'm going to be extending my service here in Madagascar for a third year!I've been selected to work as the Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL) in Diego Suarez (or Antsiranana in Malagasy). I should start my work there in August or September, and I'll remain there until the following September.

So what exactly will I be doing up there? Diego is home to a Peace Corps regional office as well as a meva, our name for small transit houses that Peace Corps operates throughout the country. My job will be to assist with the operations of the meva and the regional office, as well as to help out the other volunteers working in the north of the country. When I'm not doing Peace Corps work, I'll also be doing projects in the community. Diego is a wonderful city, and the north is one of my favorite regions of the country. I'm very lucky that I will be spending my third year up there.

For all my friends/family stateside, this doesn't mean that I'm going to go another year without seeing any of you! Volunteers who extend for a third year get one month of leave stateside. While my plans are still not concrete, I'm hoping to take my leave this November!

School Rehabilitation

Future plans aside, I've still got a lot of work to do here in Ambondro. I've just heard from the parent's association that the community has already raised the funds for their contribution to the project. In a country where getting things done on time is often a very difficult proposition, it's great to be working with such an enthusiastic and motivated community. As soon as the Peace Corps grant is fully funded, we'll be able to get to work!

We've already received a lot of funding for our contribution to the project. I'm especially thankful for the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Madison, who provided a generous donation to the project. That said, we still need about $2,500 to fully fund the project, so if you can help us out, please check out: https://beta.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/rural-classroom-rehabilitation/

School n'Such

We've almost finished the second trimester of school. It's amazing how time just flies by - come April, I'll only have one more trimester of English classes left here in Ambondro! While teaching comes with both rewards and frustrations, lately I've been seeing real improvement in my students, especially their willingness to use English outside the classroom. 

Before, many of my students wouldn't speak English to me outside of class unless I really pressed them to. Getting them to respond to "how are you?" was like pulling teeth. It wasn't that they didn't understand - they were just too shy and too afraid of making a mistake to say anything. How things have changed. When I walk around town now, I hear "hello!", "how are you?", or "what's up?" more often than "Salama", "Akore kahy" or "Ino vaovao". I'm happy to see my students feeling confident and ready to use the knowledge that they've gained in the classroom.

Until next time!

New Year, New Challenges, and Old Projects

Hey everyone! It’s time for an update on the goings-on here in the south of Madagascar.

Mbe tsy avy ty orañe

The new year has just begun, and from the snow-covered streets of New York to the tragic deaths of many Malagasy people during the recent cyclone, the weather is proving to be no one’s friend. That’s just as true here in the southern Androy Region, where we’re several months into what should be the wet season, and mbe tsy avy ty orañe (it’s still not raining).

 Androy naturally has a dry climate, but people here can normally count on the months of December through March to bring heavy rains. This rainy season provides the region with enough water to farm, which helps the Tandroy people to make it through the long dry season. However, while the rest of the island has been suffering through cyclones and torrential rains, Androy has remained exceptionally dry. Instead of rain, we’ve been treated to day after endless day of heat, sun, and heavy winds. The latter is the most destructive – it creates dust that carries away soil and kills plants. Many crops have already died (including most of our permagarden), and if the rains don’t come soon then the whole rainy season might prove a loss for Tandroy farmers. Everyone is talking about the possibility of a kere (famine) this year.

There’s still time to prevent that, and if we see some rain in February people will be able to plant their bageda (sweet potatoes) and everything will be ok. If not, then 2015 may prove to be a very difficult year for the Tandroy people. Life remains hard here in the south of Madagascar.

School Rehabilitation Project

                Rain or no rain, life goes on. I’ve heard back about the primary school rehabilitation project, and we've gotten the green light! If all goes well, then we should be able to begin fundraising soon!

Journées des Écoles

                From February 18^th to the 20^th all of the schools in Madagascar will celebrate Journées des Écoles (School Days). This celebration usually features speeches (obligatory at all events in Madagascar) about the importance of education, games, and dancing.

The Ministry of Education has declared that the theme of this year’s event will be “Un élève, un arbre” (one student, one tree). All the schools will receive a bit of money that they can use to buy trees. It looks like most of the schools here in Androy are looking to buy Moringa trees – a great opportunity to reinforce and expand the Moringa-planting project that we carried out last June!

To prepare for the planting, my counterpart Josoah and I collaborated with the midwife who runs the local health center to hold a training session for all the school principals in my commune. They learned more about the nutritional and health benefits of Moringa trees, as well as some easy ways to integrate Moringa into traditional dishes. There was a lot of enthusiasm among the principals – all of whom received Moringa trees last year, and will receive even more in a few weeks. We’re hoping to do more Moringa-related activities during Journées des Écoles!

Until the next time!  

Desert Gardens

The past month has been a very exciting (and busy) time for me here in Ambondro. I have officially started two of the main projects that I am hoping to carry out over the next year: a permagarden and a rural classroom rehabilitation. Both are still in the early stages, but it is very exciting to have finally begun working on them!

Permagarden

As I mentioned in my last post, my counterpart Josoah and I attended a training session in October about how to build a ‘permagarden.’ This style of garden uses a carefully arranged series of berms and holes to catch and hold rainwater, which combined with ‘double-dug’ garden beds helps to provide the plants with water even during the dry season. After a few weeks of preparation, we finally began work on our first permagarden last weekend. The garden is located in Association Tinoñe’s (Josoah’s village association) larger community garden, just a few feet from my house. We were able to complete all of the berms and garden beds, although we are waiting for more rainfall before we begin planting.

People in Ambondro are very interested in the permagarden. In fact, several community members have already asked us to help them set up permagardens of their own. The Androy Region is one of the driest in Madagascar, and access to fresh fruits and vegetables is very limited. Many families subsist primarily on cassava and sweet potatoes due to a lack of nutrition education and a lack of access to healthy foods. If our permagarden is successful, then we might be able to help address the latter issue.  Beginning the garden has been both exciting and somewhat nerve-racking, because there is always the possibility that the garden will fail. However, if it is successful it could really make a difference in the lives of people here!

 

Working on a garden bed

Working in the garden

Completed layout

Rural Classroom Rehabilitation

I have already talked a bit about my classroom rehabilitation project in previous posts. Well, after many meetings with parent’s groups, school officials, and local government offices, I have finally completed the grant application and submitted it to Peace Corps for evaluation. I am hoping to hear back from them sometime in January, which would mean that, if approved, we could begin fundraising in February.

People here are excited about the project, and we have secured a significant contribution from the community. Parents’ groups have agreed to pay for basic construction materials such as sand, rock, and water. The regional director of education has promised to purchase new windows and doors for the school. The regional government will provide a truck to transport all of the materials to Ambondro from the regional capital, and the district education director will pay for the gasoline. We have even talked with the local UNICEF office, and they might be able to provide us with desks for the new classrooms. We are still in the planning stages, and there is always the possibility that Peace Corps will not approve the project, but it is still very exciting to have completed the first step!

A Long-Awaited Post

Hey There!              

                I apologize, as it’s been quite a while since my last post. I was traveling for several months and I neglected to update the blog. But it’s a new (school) year, and I wanted to start up the blog again to share what’s going on here in the south of Madagascar! There’s a lot of catching up to do, so let’s get to it!

Summer Break

                The school year ended in early July, and after I finished grading exams I left site to visit the northern city of Mahajanga. After several long days spent traveling on a taxi-brousse (bush taxi), I made it to this lovely coastal city. I spent a few weeks there visiting PCV friends, as well as making a few new ones! After that, I headed to the east coast of the island, where I joined three other PCVs teaching at CURSA University in the city of Antalaha.

                After four weeks of teaching in Antalaha we once again found ourselves on a taxi-brousse headed for the capital, this time for our Mid-Service Conference (MSC). This is the meeting that Peace Corps holds for PCVs who have completed the first year of their service. We spent a week at the fantastic Peace Corps Training Center in Mantasoa, away from all the hustle and noise of Tana. Honestly, I’ve always found being at the training center to be a somewhat strange experience. Sitting on the shore of an artificial lake, surrounded by pine trees, sipping hot chocolate – it feels much more like being up-north in Wisconsin than being at a government training center in Madagascar!

                After our MSC was over, I hit the road again – this time with the northern city of Diego Suarez as my destination. Another PCV and I spent three weeks there teaching at the regional tourism office. In our free time we trained for the Diego Suarez half-marathon, which took place at the end of September. It turned out to be a big event – a total of six PCVs ran the half-marathon, while several others stood on the sidelines to cheer us on! The course was exceptionally beautiful – starting in downtown Diego and ending at the idyllic beach town of Ramena. We celebrated finishing the race by jumping into the ocean, chilling at a beachside restaurant, and treating ourselves to seafood and coconut rice.

Year Two Begins

                Work began as soon as I made it back to my site in the south of the island. I’m teaching six classes this year – four classes at the middle school and two classes at the high school. While teaching can still be a struggle, I definitely feel as though I have a better grasp on it than I did at the beginning of last year! Progress with my students is incremental, but I can see marked improvement in at least a few of them. And to my delight most of the children in my town, even the ones who have yet to start learning English, now say ‘hello’ to me. It’s a small change, but it still brings a smile to my face every time.

                I’m very excited for the upcoming year. I have a few exciting projects on my plate, and I can’t wait to get started. My main project will be the reconstruction of the local elementary school. The main schoolhouse was severely damaged in a cyclone several years ago, which destroyed much of the roof. This has allowed rain to fall into the classrooms, further damaging the roof’s support structure and the concrete floors. While the building is still used by the school, it’s impossible for students to study when there are dust storms or rain – a serious problem since the windy season and the rainy season fall in the middle of the school year. The grant that I’m working on will provide materials for a new roof, new structural supports, and concrete to repair the floors. It’s going to be somewhat expensive, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to find the money and rebuild the school. Expect more news in the weeks to come!

                I’ve also been working with the other PCVs in the Androy and Anôsy regions to coordinate a GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) camp in Fort Dauphin this March. The goal of this camp, as with any GLOW camp, is to help motivate these girls to become proactive, self-confident citizens. To this end, we will be teaching them about topics such as leadership, gender equality, goal-setting, and health. In a place where girls are often consigned to a secondary role in society, we hope that this camp will empower these promising young students to become both leaders in their communities and positive examples for other girls.

                Finally, I’m going to be doing some work related to food security. Food security is an ever-present problem here in the Androy Region, where famines occur every few years. As a result of the very real threat of hunger and the semi-arid climate of the region, Tandroy people generally rely on a few staple crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, and corn. Vegetables are fairly limited, and balanced diets are very rare. I’m hoping to continue the work I started with the Moringa project last year and improve both people’s understanding of nutrition as well as their access to healthy foods. Just last week I attended a training session in Mantasoa, during which we learned how to build a ‘permagarden.’ This gardening technique is designed to help families to grow sustainable vegetable gardens, thus improving their access to nutritious foods and their long-term food security. My counterpart and I are hoping to begin gardening in the upcoming weeks.

Wrapping Up

                So that’s been my life for the past six months! I apologize for the length of the post – I hope that it wasn’t too boring! I’m going to be more mazoto about updating the blog this year – I’m going to write monthly updates, and possibly more if I have exciting news to share.