Blazing saddles!

Matt Townend

This August Bank Holiday the Creedon brothers will not be the only intrepid cyclists hitting the roads in support of MfM. On the same weekend Matt Townend and friends will be embarking on an epic 8-day cycle from Land's End in Cornwall to John O'Groats in the Scottish Highlands to raise money to support destitute children and families in Madagascar.

As Matt, seen below warming up on one of London's ubiquitous "Boris Bikes", observes, this long-distance challenge "is the equivalent of doing the London to Brighton Bike ride twice a day for 8 days straight. And we'll be carrying all our stuff. So i'm pretty sure it'll hurt.". We here at MfM have no doubt that he's right - just the thought of 874 miles on the road is enough to make us saddle-sore. Luckily, come Bank Holiday weekend, Matt will have swapped his Boris Bike for something a little better suited to long-distance cycling.

Are you sure that's appropriate clothing for an 874 mile cycle ride? Matt warms up on a Boris Bike.

Please help make Matt's punishing two-wheel trial worthwhile by visiting his JustGiving site and sponsoring him. All proceeds will go to support sustainable, community-led development projects in Madagascar.

Watch this space for more news of Matt and his team.

A heartwarming yarn...

A few weeks back we shared with you the story of Franck, a young man whose life-saving surgery was paid for thanks to the efforts of nimble-fingered Money for Madagascar supporters and their exotic woolly creations.

This lemur changes lives!

 For several years this group of unsung heroes have worked tirelessly to produce and sell knitted Lemurs on behalf of Money for Madagascar. Proceeds from sales of these beautiful items have then been used to fund critical operations for some of Madagascar’s poorest and most vulnerable children and young people. 


The Surgery Fund was born in 2006 when a generous MfM donor funded an operation to correct the

The first beneficiary of the Surgery Fund

cleft palate of a baby from a very poor family that had come to the notice of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Antananarivo. The following year the Hotter Shoe Company sponsored Alan Dart to create a knitting pattern of a ring-tailed lemur which is exclusive to Money for Madagascar. Soft toys made from this pattern are now sold and form the main source of income for the Surgery Fund. This enables us to fund one or two urgent operations per year for needy children from the Sisters’ social centre in the capital. For the most part we fund operations for such things as cleft palate or hydrocephalus (water on the brain) for young children but, as our previous blog entry details, the most recent operation was on a 23 year old ex-street child who was rushed into hospital with acute appendicitis and had no means of paying for treatment.

Creedon brothers Cycle Challenge

On the 27th of August Andrew and Jonny Creedon will embark on a cycling challenge to raise money for MfM. They plan to cycle from work to home, which may not sound too hard except that Andrew works in the City of London and lives in 270miles away in Liverpool! They hope to complete the challenge in 3 days. Good luck guys, I hope you’ve got well padded saddles!
To support these inCREEDable cyclists please follow the link to their fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/andrew-creedon0

News from Madagascar

Life-saving surgery for Franck...
We’ve got the lemur knitters to thank!

This young man was recently rushed into hospital with a hernia and acute appendicitis. Thanks to ‘The Sisters’ Surgery Fund’ Franck received life-saving surgery. He has just completed his treatment.

His mother was so relieved to see her son alive and well again. This is a translation of what she wrote to us:

“Bonjour, I am the mother of Tafitasoa Franck. I am so grateful for your help. My son's operation was successful and he is recovering well. His treatment finished at the end of July. A thousand thank yous. The money you sent has saved my son’s life. God bless and protect you!”

Soon we’ll be going behind the scenes to meet the quick-fingered, big-hearted knitters in the UK who fund surgery for Malagasy street kids, through the sale of knitted lemurs.

Hip Hip Hooray! We crossed the Bay!

Ready...

Steady?

Go!

Welcome MfM supporters!

Do you want to hear the latest news from our Madagascar projects?
Would you like to share in our 25th Anniversary events?

Then welcome to the MfM blog. Now you are here, why not have a look around! As well as following our news features, why not find out what’s coming next on our Events page? If you can’t make it to our events, but want to be part of MfM’s celebrations, check out our Useful Resources page. We hope it might inspire you to tell a friend about MfM or even run an event of your own. Whether you can swim 25 lengths or eat 25 cakes, please join in the fun and help make this an extra special year for the poorest of Madagascar.

A grand day for projects in Madagascar

Well done Hilary and team, for raising over a £1000 on Sunday in the London 10K. Your sweat and pain was not in vain. A grand will go a long way to help lift Malagasy people out of desperate poverty. Keep an eye on the blog to hear how the money is spent!

Shortly after catching her breath, Hilary described the experience.

Before
After

They came from the streets, the fields and the classrooms..

MfM Trustee Martin Wilkinson has just spent a month visiting projects across the length and breadth of the Madagascar. On Martin's final day MfM Partners gathered together from across the Island, joining him to celebrate 25 years of MfM.
MfM is not renowned for throwing parties! On the contrary they pride themselves on their no-frills approach to development work, ensuring that every last penny reaches the people in greatest need. But when Akany Avoko Children’s Home offered to host a party to say thank you to MfM everyone was delighted.






Leaving behind for one evening their special needs school, homelessness projects, training programmes, primary schools, farmers and forests, representatives from large and small NGOs alike gathered for a rare opportunity to relax, exchange ideas and celebrate their achievements.
Martin, clearly touched by the event, shares his experience with us…

Music for Madagascar

Stars of the show (left to right):

David Galvani, wife of the Deputy Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Tse, Bernadette King, Luca Galvani, Marco Galvani.

On 11th June the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead echoed to the wonderful sound of music in a concert given by MfM Trustees, Supporters and Malagasy Partners.

The evening swung into song with Trustee Bernadette King, and her accompanist David Galvani performing Schubert songs, which provoked prolonged and enthusiastic applause from the audience. The second half of the concert included three pieces composed by David’s son Marco. David's younger son, Luca, also delighted the audience with his beautiful performance on the flute. Thank you boys – you surely have a great musical future !

The concert was brought to a rousing conclusion with some Malagasy piano music performed by our Partner Rahajary Tsialinarivo (a.k.a. Tse), who is the director of our Malagasy Partner NGO 'SAF'.

The evening ended with a five star buffet and a competition to guess the weight of Bernadette’s pet pig. A thoroughly good time was had by all and well over £1,000 was raised for MfM’s work in Madagascar, which is now the third poorest country on earth.

With sincerest thanks to all who made the event a great success,
Theresa Haine , Co-ordinator of MfM

Check out our 'Events' page to find out what's coming up next. Could this be your chance to get a free Bradt Guide to Madagascar?

Ain't No Mountain High Enough...

One of the 25 summits Laura reached in support of MfM

Regular readers will remember intrepid MfM supporter Laura Sewell's plan to embark on a Lake District 25 peak challenge to celebrate Money for Madagascar's 25th anniversary.

Well, after summiting 25 peaks and covering more than 50 kilometres in just two days, Laura returned home, in one piece, and emailed us just a few days ago.

Laura's semi-conscious colleagues were too exhausted to complain as they were manhandled into a rudimentary "25"...

Despite "crazy" weather conditions and a punishing schedule, Laura successfully completed her challenge, raising more than £650 for sustainable community-lead projects in Madagascar.

Laura hopes to take the total beyond £1000 so please visit her Just Giving page at:  http://www.justgiving.com/25peaksfor25years to make a secure Gift-Aided donation.

Our hero...