Unsung Heroes

The bravest and most remarkable heroes of our work in Madagascar are the children who grasp hold of life and turn destitution into success. Like these students from the Akany Avoko primary school who have defied destitution and passed their Primary School Certificate exam this month. Their strength, ingenuity, determination and joy is inspiring. (All eleven students passed but only 5 are captured on photo.)

But in order to help such courageous people MfM needs another ingredient – money. You might think this is the dull and boring bit of the story. On the contrary! Let me take you behind the scenes to meet some of MfM’s unsung heroes, who show us that there can be joy and ingenuity in the raising of the money too.

The turn of the Millennium was a time of change and new hope. Least Developed nations like Madagascar prayed that campaigns like Jubilee 2000 might free them from the stranglehold of crippling debt. Meanwhile in Lancaster, UK composer Andy Whitfield gathered a merry band of singers to form the Lancaster Millenium Choir. But it wasn’t until 2004 that this Choir would become part of the Malagasy struggle against poverty.

As part of a teacher exchange between Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School and Akany Avoko Children’s Home Andy was invited to spend two weeks sharing songs with the delightful children of Akany Avoko. As Andy learned about the tragic stories behind the joyful faces of these children he was deeply moved. On return to the UK he composed the cantata ‘For Every Child’, based on the International Convention of Children’s Rights interwoven with quotes from the children at Akany Avoko.

Joining forces with primary schools and music ensembles the Millenium Choir

raised their voices to perform ‘For Every Child’ for the children of Akany Avoko. Soon concert halls, schools and churches across the North of England could be heard singing out for children’s rights and raising money to help restore them.

After 3 years of singing for the children of Akany Avoko Millenium Chorister Maggie Bremner decided to pack a bag and join them as a volunteer. A few months of cuddles, snotty noses and teaching toddlers to walk was enough to fuel Maggie and the choir to keep on singing for another five years, dedicating the profits of each concert to Akany Avoko.

This year’s fundraising events included ‘Frankenstein Sings’, carol singing at the Ingleborough Caves, a production of The Loan Ranger at the Gregson in Lancaster in May and an appearance at the Tongue Tribe Summer Concert in Kendal Town Hall in July.

 The Millennium Choir will always have a special connection with the children of Akany Avoko, but Andy recently agreed to extend their help to destitute children beyond the walls of Akany Avoko by supporting the new ‘Money for Madagascar Children’s Fund’. Whilst Akany Avoko is only large enough to care for 120 children, thousands more remain destitute and vulnerable on the streets of the capital. This fund is born out of the desire both of Akany Avoko and MfM to extend a lifesaving chance to more of these children. 

Funds raised now will help community centres to provide food, medical care and education to street kids starting classes in September.

MfM would be nothing without our joyful, steadfast fundraisers like

The Lancaster Millenium Choir. Your donations have transformed the lives of hundreds of children in Madagascar. THANK YOU!

A smashing time for children in Madagascar

Today on the BBC Luke Freeman wields a hammer in a Madagascar quarry as he discovers why Malagasy children must close their minds to the ‘smashing’ time they are having in the mines. To hear it now follow the link  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jwd5w#p00tz1kd


Luke exposes the harsh reality for children who must forego their education to work to feed themselves and their families. As poverty rises so to does child labour, with a shocking 30% of Malagasy children aged 5-14 now in work. However the need to earn money is not the only thing keeping Malagasy children out of school.

According to UNICEF “The average Malagasy completes only 4.4 years of school” which is “a direct result of a lack of capacity: Madagascar does not have enough trained teachers and it does not have enough classrooms.”

 In our work with poor farming villages in Madagascar’s highlands, we have found parents that will make huge sacrifices to enable their children to go to school. This year we worked with four such isolated villages where children were unable to study for want of a classroom.

When the roof burned off the school at Ambatofangehana it really was the final straw!

 Kilometres away from the nearest road or town these forgotten villages have long stopped hoping for any help from the Malagasy Government. Instead the parents and teachers picked up their shovels and started to build their own schools. Seeing the commitment and determination of these communities to educate their children has inspired MfM to support them in their efforts.

Parents and teachers dig the foundations of Antanetilehibe Primary School

This year MfM has given over 500 children the chance to study in a safe, rain-proof environment by building 7 new classrooms and renovating 2 mud & thatch classrooms.

Children of Antanetilehibe check out their completed classrooms.

 Of course you can’t build a school with bricks and mortar alone and MfM is increasingly concerned with what happens inside and outside the classroom. This year we have launched a new teacher-training programme, which aims to inspire and inform teachers, equipping them to teach useful knowledge in a stimulating and relevant way. We are focussing on environmental education, which is highly relevant to Malagasy children. For Madagascar’s prized, acutely endangered eco-system to survive, young Malagasy people need to understand and care about it. And indeed for rural Malagasy children themselves to survive they will need to learn how to restore and protect their local environment before all fertility is lost from the land and there is no wood left to cook with.

No trees need to be felled to make
these charcoal pellets from clay and leaves

In the coming months our students will be taking a school trip to the Ranomafana rainforest, starting their own plant nurseries and learning how to cook without felling trees. In 2012 over 2000 children will benefit from this programme. We look forward to sharing some of their progress with you.






 Many thanks to our generous donors who have made this programme possible.

Cutting Edge News..

Sorry the Blog has been so quiet! If you’ve been wondering where we’ve been, the short answer in  - Madagascar!

I have just finished a fascinating month of visiting MfM projects across the Red Island . With the excited chatter of successes , frustrations and future plans still buzzing in my ears, I’m delighted to take time to pause and share the latest news with you. First up this week, the Tana street girls who will  blow you away.

Madagascar is ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for child poverty. For hundreds of children sleeping in the streets and slums of the capital, daily life is a harsh struggle for survival. For over a decade MfM has funded community centres like Centre Fihavanana, which offer food, safety and an education to hundreds of Tana’s destitute children.

Sister Annamma brings new hope to street kids

When I visited Sister Annamma in April I was touched to hear her describe her recent efforts to save one homeless family…

 “Homeless people are surprised that I come to the rubbish dump to talk with them. Life is so hard for people here now.” Sister Annamma recounted.

Striving to protect vulnerable girls

 “For months I have been talking to an alcoholic couple who sleep under a bridge. I have been very afraid for their young daughters who are so vulnerable, especially at night. I couldn't sleep at night thinking about what might happen to them. At last I have found an orphanage that will look after the girls until the parents can offer them a safe home. I am so relieved. Perhaps these girls will be saved. Already the parents are making an effort to sober up. Of course it is not easy. But we must not despair. Even if we can lift a few people out of misery it is worth it!” Concluded Sister Annamma.

 Not every child can be rescued and this can weigh heavily on your heart. But after sharing some of her sadness and frustrations the radiant smile returned to Sister Annamma’s face as she lead me enthusiastically to meet her students.

Destitute girls delight in the chance to study

 In October MfM was happy to sponsor the launch of a new training programme for vulnerable teenaged girls. So it was a delight for me to meet them and witness their enthusiasm. In addition to academic studies, catering and Information Technology, the girls have just begun a new course in hairdressing.

From the fringes of society

These girls will blow you away!

 Before coming to Centre Fihavanana these girls wandered the streets in search of food or money. Now they are delighted to have the chance to study and learn vocational skills like hairdressing. Each year at least 20 students should be ready for employment. With at least 80% of the population unemployed, the best option for most girls is to set up their own small enterprise.

Our next dream is to be able to provide each graduate with a small business start-up kit, so she can take her first vital step from destitution towards safety, dignity and independence.

Please get in touch if you want to help the Tana street girls. 

A Trustee's Eye View...

One of the unique aspects of Money for Madagascar is the depth and breadth of experience that our team of trustees bring with them to our work. Every one of them has either lived and worked in Madagascar or boasts extensive experience of development work, sustainable living, conservation, business or management. 

Trustee Mike Cherry

This practical experience, cultural awareness and love for the Red Island and its people is critical to identifying the right projects to support and ensuring that our donor’s money is spent safely and effectively.

Here trustee Mike Cherry talks about an inspirational visit he made to and MfM funded conservation project in the Betampona reserve:

"Ever since I was a child I had Gerald Durrell influenced visions of Madagascar as a tree covered island with Lemurs and Aye Ayes in the bushes and flocks of amazing birds and insects floating overhead.

So when I was invited to visit Money for Madagascar projects in the late 1990’s I jumped at the chance and had a fantastic few weeks visiting various projects and meeting a number of amazing people. One of the highlights was the time that I spent with Mahefa and his team who worked around the Betampona reserve.

While chatting with Mahefa on our first evening near the Betampona Reserve with the crickets chirruping and the fireflies flitting and a distant slash and burn fire making its way up a hillside, he asked me what I did for a living and I explained that I was as a tree preservation officer and that people could be fined up £20,000 for each tree that they destroyed in a British city.

Slash and burn agriculture is devastating forests

Mahefa laughed and said ‘Even if you threatened people with a Kalashnikov you would not be able to control tree destruction here’.  This made me feel rather pessimistic about the future of the reserve.

MfM Partner Mahefa tends a tree nursery

However, over the next couple of days spent with Mahefa and his team, the impact of their ability to engage with the farmers and involving them in new farming techniques proved to be a much more potent and inspirational weapon than a Kalashnikov. To counter forest destruction a number of the farmers were developing small tree nurseries.

After this experience, how could I resist becoming more involved with Money for Madagascar?"

Madagascar Cyclone Appeal

On the 14^th of February 2012 cyclone Giovanna blasted into Brickaville on the East coast of Madagascar ripping down trees, schools, churches and homes as well as flattening electricity and phone lines in its wake.

Most cyclones fizzle out before reaching the capital Antananarivo, in the highlands of Madagascar.But not this time! As torrential rain flooded roads, homes and businesses..

.. and winds ripped at roofs

…there was little hope for the make-shift shelters which were home to Madagascar’s poorest people.

According to the Bureau National De Gestion Des Risques et des Catastrophe by the time Giovanna surged out to sea at Morondava it had killed 35 and injured 256 people and left 241,597 people homeless and disaster-stricken. The devastated country had hardly drawn breath when cyclone Irina struck on the 26^th of February killing at least 72 people and rendering another 70,000 homeless.

Now is the time to help survivors to rebuild their lives. Our partners at Vonjy Voina SAF/FJKM are experienced in delivering disaster relief and reconstruction to Malagasy cyclone victims. So Money for Madagascar has launched an appeal to help them in this vital work. The more money we can raise the more people they can reach.

http://www.justgiving.com/Irenee-Rajaona-Horne

or the MfM website http://www.moneyformadagascar.org/english/howtod.htm

Thank you!

Madagascar Cyclone Appeal

In response to Cyclone Giovanna which hit Madagascar on the 14th of February, Money for Madagascar has now launched an appeal to help the victims.

Now that electricity and phone lines are being restored we are receiving pleas for help from our trusted partners on the ground.

Watch this space for details very soon.

If you are keen to help now you can donate through our website. Many thanks from the MfM team.

Aye Aye!

Madagascar’s aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is the world’s largest nocturnal primate and probably the weirdest too. If you go out for a Malagasy moonlit stroll you are very unlikely to find one of these Near Threatened lemurs. So peculiar is their behaviour that it is hard to believe that they are distant relatives of ours! If you want to see them in action check out recent BBC films such as ‘Last Chance To See’, ‘Deadly 60’ or this clip from ‘Predators’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Aye-aye#p009yp79.The community conservation work of Money for Madagascar has inspired one of our supporters to write this ode to an Aye Aye.

The Finger

Can I really be looking

at a close cousin

sharing the same home planet?

More ET than aye-aye

rapidly

pecking

with its witchy middle digit

on a treetrunk in the dark,

pressing damp hairy snout

close to the bark

ready to sniff out

the grub, gnaw the rotten wood, insinuate

that dark, elongated

twig of a middle finger deep

along beetle tunnels till the tip

senses the cowering larva, impales

fat flesh on one horny nail

whips it out, pushes it

between thick

lips, rolls up its orange stare in ecstasy

so like that look of glee

with which George Melly

covering Bessie Smith

would dip his fingertip into an imaginary

jelly roll

or sugar bowl

then suck in bliss.

Had the ancients met the lemur

when they dubbed the middle finger

digitus impudicus?

had they been discomposed

by that same nocturnal glare

when they proposed

obscene gesture -

giving the bird, showing the fica -

as one way to avert

the evil eye (aye)?

had they ever supposed

one could feel pity for a maggot?

Thanks to Stevie Krayer for sending in her poem.

Can rice save the Madagascar forests?

In the Betampona forest of Madagascar our MfM team has been teaching SRI rice production for over a decade. Instead of cutting down rainforest to expand their rice fields, farmers have been able to feed their growing families by growing rice more intensively in the land that they have. Thanks to this new technique the farmers of Betampona are producing between 5 and 7 times more rice than they used to. At last they can enjoy improved food security (enough rice to eat!) without needing to slash down the forest and wipe-out endangered species. In addition MfM is helping farmers to diversify their crops so they can feed their families well throughout the whole year. Families in 73 villages surrounding this special forest reserve are now producing surplus crops like rice, vegetables, wood, honey, palm trees, coffee, fruit and spices, so they can generate cash to pay for medicines and education for their children.

5 years ago MfM's work in Betampona was recognised by the Malagasy Government as a 'model' project to be emulated across Madagascar. But progress has been slow. While the price of rice has doubled in the past 2 years, much has been left to humble NGOs working with scattered communities to try to help the Malagasy to grow enough rice to eat. But with the Malagasy Government making SRI rice production a 'priority' in 2011, could there be hope to bring improved food security to Malagasy people?

Follow this link to feature on SRI rice production in Madagascar:
IRIN Africa MADAGASCAR: The “less is more” philosophy of rice production Madagascar Economy Environment Food Security

Silk moth rediscovered by SEPALI

The rediscovery of the Ceranchia silk moth brings a flutter of excitement to fledgling farmers in the North East of Madagascar

In 2011 MfM was delighted to team up with a Malagasy conservation and development NGO called SEPALI. Tapping into Madagascar’s rich heritage of silk weaving, SEPALI has launched a project to conserve forests and relieve rural poverty in the North East of Madagascar through the production of wild silk.

Madagascar suffers from acute poverty, environmental decimation with desperate suffering as a consequence. This project enables farmers to earn a living in an environmentally beneficial way. Silk cultivation is a win-win development project for both people and their environment, because in order to produce silk you need to plant trees and look after your local environment so that silk moths will thrive. By helping farmers living on the edge of a ‘Protected Area’ this project helps to preserve endangered species in 2 ways: Primarily, the cultivation of wild silk requires farmers to improve and protect their land and value the eco-system around them. Secondarily, farmers are less likely to need to encroach on the Protected Area if they have an alternative source of income.

So far 69 men and 57 women from 6 poor farming communities on the edge of the Makira Protected Area have each been given 250 indigenous trees to plant. Already 15,000 trees have been planted. In 2 years time these trees will become the host plants for the farmers’ silk worms. In between these trees farmers are planting vegetable crops to reduce predators on the silk moth larvae as well as providing much needed food for themselves. The results of this project will be: silk to sell, food to eat and a well cared-for local eco-system.

Of course the farmers aren’t just sitting around waiting for their trees to grow! As well as planting and tending their trees and crops, the farmers are making the equipment they will need for silk production, meeting to exchange ideas and train new farmers and even rediscovering a forgotten species of silk moth! The rediscovery of the Ceranchia silk moth by SEPALI in 2011 opens up potential for producing new silk products.

Meanwhile, in the US, project pioneer Dr Craig is exploring markets for SEPALI’s exotic new silk products including garments, furnishing and jewellery made from pressed silk cocoons.

With this dress made from pressed silk cocoons making it on to a New York catwalk this year, the SEPALI team is excited by potential new interest in their products.

We look forward to sharing more news from Makira as we follow the story of the farmers who are trying to improve their environment and their livelihoods with the help of indigenous silk moths.

Madagascar Golden Orb Spider proves spinning threads of gold is not just an old yarn.

Have you heard that the golden silk produced by over a million Malagasy Golden Orb Spiders has been woven into the most stunning spider-silk golden cape and 4 metre long shawl. It’s true! These unique spider-spun garments have just have just been revealed in an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The exquisite beauty of these intricately woven garments is a testament to the incredible skill of Madagascar’s finest weavers. Traditionally weaving ceremonial shawls or ‘lamba’ from raffia, cotton and silk, these highly skilled weavers have turned their hand to spiders’ silk with stunning effect.

Follow the link below to see the garments and hear an interview with ‘spidermen’ Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley, the masters behind this fantastical project.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/today/hi/today/newsid_9677000/9677046.stm

If you’re intrigued by the ingenious silk producers of Madagascar, watch this space for our home-spun story from our new project in Makira - revealing the discoveries of the silk specialists of SEPALI .