Building three masonry classrooms in this isolated village in the Brickaville district, in eastern Madagascar, addressed a crucial need: in 2017, around a hundred children had no access to basic education. However, constructing a school incurs significant costs in a village where the inhabitants struggle daily for their survival.
To ensure the sustainability of this infrastructure, we considered solutions to make the building profitable outside of school hours, on weekends, and during school holidays. The creation of a village committee, combined with advocacy efforts with the Malagasy Ministry of National Education, allowed us to implement income-generating activities (IGAs). These activities, adapted to the local context, provide sufficient financial resources to cover the operating costs of the school.
Thanks to this organization, the school now benefits from regular subsidies and strong community support, ensuring its financial autonomy while contributing to the improvement of local families’ living conditions. This model not only promotes sustainable access to education for children but also fosters the economic development of the village by mobilizing local skills and resources.
12/2017
On December 6, two representatives from EDI Madagascar visited the site to see how the work was progressing. The structural work is now complete. The site visit was an opportunity for the villagers to organize a small party as a token of their thanks.
First quarter of 2018
On January 8, 2018, Cyclone AVA struck the eastern coast of Madagascar, bringing heavy rainfall. The torrential rains lasted for 48 hours, and the entire Tamatave province was affected. Ambodivoangy was no exception, and despite the elevation of the building, our school was flooded. Unfortunately, AVA was just the first in a series of cyclones.
Second quarter of 2018
After the rain, the good weather, as the saying goes. The rain that fell at the beginning of the year on the eastern part of the country was of rare intensity, but the cyclone season is finally coming to an end, and little by little, life in the village is returning to normal. The workers have returned to the site to fix some defects and finish the construction. The village committee activities have also resumed, with everyone now fully understanding the importance of savings training and the implementation of income-generating activities.
17/08/2018
On August 17, 2018, in the presence of local and regional authorities, it was under pouring rain that the members of EDI Madagascar attended the official inauguration of the primary school. In Malagasy tradition, rain is a sign of blessing… An important milestone in our project has been reached… For the occasion, the boat used to transport all the materials was repainted and offered to the villagers.
09/2018
It’s not easy to have a civic attitude when you’ve never known anything other than your village and the fields that border it. It’s not easy to know that you have rights, but also duties, when living in such an isolated society as Ambodivoahangy. The Sustainable Development Goals are not something innate. Providing civic education to cultivate responsible behavior within the Ambodivoangy community is the goal of the civic training component in the project we are leading. This will help raise awareness among the population about their responsibility for personal development and the development of their country. It was also the first opportunity to use the newly built building for a training activity.
11/2021
The Malagasy Ministry of National Education, through the head of the Brickaville school district, kept its promise and assigned two teachers to the new school: a principal and a teacher. Four FRAM teachers (teachers funded by the parents) complete the teaching team to oversee the 130 children attending the school year… Each child received a school kit provided by our local partner, Fondation Telma. A final briefing with the parents, and the first school year in Ambodivoangy began.
12/2021
After the rain, the good weather, as the saying goes. The rain that fell at the beginning of the year on the eastern part of the country was of rare intensity, but the cyclone season is finally coming to an end, and little by little, life in the village is returning to normal. The workers have returned to the site to fix some defects and finish the construction. The village committee activities have also resumed, with everyone now fully understanding the importance of savings training and the implementation of income-generating activities.
2019
As the project was completed without major difficulties, a small financial reserve remained at the end. At the request of the beneficiaries and with the agreement of our donors, we decided to use this amount to carry out a few additional actions: the construction of a house for the teachers, who currently have to travel from Brickaville every day and lose a lot of time each morning and evening; the digging of a well; and the construction of a laundry area and showers. Some photos of the teachers’ house :
2020
One major highlight that reflects the success of this project in the village of Ambodivoahangy is the establishment of an education center. According to the beneficiaries, the provision of a public primary school is one of the most impactful initiatives ever implemented in their village. Over the 30 months of implementation, several activities were carried out, including the construction of community infrastructure (school, laundry area, latrines), the provision of school supplies, and various training and awareness sessions.
As planned in the project, in December 2020 we commissioned a final evaluation by an independent auditor, one year after the end of the project’s implementation. The evaluation had a dual purpose: to assess whether the project objectives had been successfully achieved, and to ensure that, a year after our last intervention, the measures put in place were still operational.
