A community school for all (children) in Fiarenana

Our Little reforestation poster boy is growing up. So is ‘his’ tree. Both visibly illustrate and symbolize for us how our reforestation efforts and going to school are intertwined for us. Kids that are actively involved in community activities fortunatelly often have parents that support them attending school.

For years we referred to him lovingly  as “our cute little boy”, based on his tree planting enthusiasm in 2012. Eleven years later to the day, our boy is in for another milestone. He is one of the students in his school in Fiarenana to be selected to participate in the CEPE, the country wide primary school diploma test. In 2024 he will travel (walk) to the next town for the CEPE test.
 
If we could, we would just submit photos for this report, because they indeed tell a thousand words. But to fulfill the GlobalGiving reporting requirements we added a few words.
 
We hope that in the season of end-of-year giving you might consider Zahana in Madagascar if you are in a position to do so. To sweeten the holiday pie or cookies GlobalGiving still offers all donors that decide to become monthly donors a match of their first monthly donation. If that ain’t a baker’s dozen for a 12-month commitment?
 
Monthly donors are truly the backbone of our work, because they take the guess work out of fundraising and allow us to with your help to focus on implementing programs with a solid budget.

Links:

• Communal Tree Planting in Fiadanana on December 23, 2012

The total number of students for this 2023 school year: 160. With 50 in Fiarenana and 110 in Fiadanana.

In Fiarenana, under the leadership of our young energetic teacher Juliet, we have exciting developments, and the community is waking up.

For school commencement 2023/24 they community of parents in Fiarenana came together to:

• repair of the windows and doors of the Fiarenana school. This activity was supported financially by Zahana for the material and the labor was provided by the parents of the students.
• repair of the school roof and paving of the school toilet.
• repair of the roof of the ‘chalet’, the structure in the school yard, used for shelter from the sun during recreation hours.
• repainting the interior of the classrooms with white clay
• upgrading the knowledge of the student’s parents on the manufacturing of improved stoves and bio charcoal, either for domestic use or for sale for profit.
• election of the he parents’ association’s board members.

At the end of their first meeting, it was decided to proceed with growing cassava and beans for the students' school soup. This parents association will raise a pig, with assistance from our micro credit. The profit from the pig will be used to finance the making of t-shirts for the celebration of 15th anniversary of our school. The celebration is planned for May 2024.

Big dreams: The students of our schools, have never been to the seaside or seen the ocean, despite the fact that our country is an island. They wish to see the ocean at least once in their lives. So Zahana is seeing how to achieve the dream of these children.

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We hope that in the season of end-of-year giving you might consider Zahana in Madagascar if you are in a position to do so. To sweeten the pie GlobalGiving still offers all donors that decide to become monthly donors a match of their first monthly donation. If that ain’t a baker’s dozen for a 12-month commitment?

Monthly donors are truly the backbone of our work, because they take the guess work out of fundraising and the focus on implementing programs with a solid budget.