Help us Build Manambaro Lycee

Update from Lomba, ONG Azafady’s Head of Construction

“The construction of the first school building went extremely smoothly indeed. It’s now all finished. I’m so proud of the school that I took my brother to have a look around. He’s a highly qualified engineer so I was really pleased when he told me how impressed he was with the roofing beams and the accuracy of the build.  The quality of our work shows that grassroots organisations can be just as good as the larger ones.

What I love about the project is that it isn’t just about providing a place for people to study; it’s also about passing on skills to the local community. That’s why lots of my team is made up of many people from the village didn’t have technical skills before the project. By working on the first building they got their first experience of being on a construction site.

The second school building will be finished by the end of June; we’re working on the rendering and the roof supports at the moment. The unskilled guys that started the first now have the experience to take on more responsibility. They’ve learnt a lot about masonry from the technical guys and their construction confidence has grown. They’ve now taken charge of completing the veranda. Now they’re going to have the skills to find a job after the project finishes.

The latrine is going to be finished in a couple of weeks which is really exciting. With two latrine blocks, nobody is going to be able to have an excuse for defecating openly. Seeing as the school is up on the hill, it’s going to have a big impact on the health of the local community. 

I’d like to say thank you to all our supporters around the world that make this possible, and also to the volunteers that have come to help us out!”

Case studies

Nora

Nora loves coming to Manambaro Lycée, especially to study Malagasy and English. Some of her classmates walk up to 16 kilometres a day to come to school, and those from even more remote areas have to stay with friends or family in the commune.  Nora’s ambition is to become a nurse and work in a large hospital and she knows how important it is to come to school so she can achieve this.

Nora is really happy about the new school building, “it brings development to the school and to the community.” She remembers her time at the middle school which had broken doors and windows. “It’s wonderful to come to school and see the new buildings”. If the school in Manambaro wasn’t here Nora would have to travel to Fort Dauphin which is far from home and would cost her family too much. 

Johnson

Johnson is 19 and is in his penultimate year at the lycée. During the week he lives in Manambaro with his cousin but returns home at the weekends to see his parents and his girlfriend. Johnson thinks corruption and bribery are serious problems in Madagascar and he believes he’s the man to do something about it. He is studying for the Malagasy Baccalaureate so he can enter the police at officer level and realise his dream of becoming the captain of police. He would never take a bribe because he would be happy enough with his salary.

Johnson is very excited about the new school building. Without the new buildings there were too many students in each classroom and some had to study in the town hall which is far from the main school area. This was hard for students, often making them late. He is very happy about the students joining the main school when the classroom opens and thinks it is important that the whole school studies together. He thinks that the school can set a good example, the WASH sessions have given him the perfect opportunity to share his knowledge with the rest of him community. The new latrine block and a better understanding of hygiene and health is something many people will be able to benefit from. Thanks to these sessions and the new buildings Johnson believes “this school can be like a mirror for the whole community”. 

Links:

• See more about our Project Sekoly here ...
• volunteer with us - help with the next phase of construction ...

News from  Manambaro Lycée: First building nearing completion and the second 1.5m  high!

Progress at Manambaro Lycée keeps going from strength to strength. The first school building is within touching distance of completion. Thanks to the tireless work of the Construction Team - led by Lomba - we are delighted to tell you that once the doors and windows are in and the roof is painted it will be finished!

Coming from Manambaro village, Lomba is particularly excited about the progress. As a child, he had to be sent to live in the regional capital away from his family in order to get the high school education that is so natural for all of us in the West. Most of the 400-500 children  turned away from the school every year aren’t as lucky as Lomba was, so he is particularly proud to be making such a great difference for his own community.

More brilliant news is that enough funding has been secured from Australian Aid to start building the second and third school buildings and construct another latrine block. Amazingly, the Construction Team and international volunteers have rolled up their sleeves and started the second building while finishing off the first building too. The second building is over a metre and half high and keeps growing gradually under the watchful eye of Serge – Head of Quality Control. Despite the good news, there is still a long way to go to make sure the buildings and latrines are fully funded so donations are needed as much as ever.

The finishing touches have also been put on the 21-metre deep well and the latrine block. The local community have added a sturdy gate to the well’s fence to deter any wandering zebu (local species of cow). The latrine doors have been painted and provided with locks and essential cleaning equipment.

Thanks must go to our international volunteers, Kathryn, George, Callum, Jack and Matteo, who have travelled from the France, the UK, Australia and Chile to put their hard work into the project. They are following in the footsteps of previous pioneers like Bethany George, who having laboured on the well and latrine, raised over £10,000 for the project upon returning to the UK. Not only have our volunteers been working like dogs in the dry heat of Manambaro - mixing cement, carrying bricks, sawing timber - they’ve also been teaching English in their time off, helping students to pass the test at the end of the year. Kathryn has been using her impressive organisational and language skills to ensure these lessons have run smoothly.

It’s important to remember that this project is not just about building a school. It is about providing the infrastructure and training necessary for hundreds of young people to reach their full potential and ultimately help break the poverty cycle. SEED Madagascar takes a holistic approach to projects, understanding that complimentary activities are needed to have a sustainable impact for future generations. With 3.5 million school days lost in Madagascar every year to diarrheal disease, building a latrine is just the start.

Leah, our highly experienced and always smiley Community Health Agent, has therefore continued to visit the school, delivering engaging and stimulating sessions that encourage students to maintain the latrines and use them effectively. Leah has made a big impact at the Lycée. Off the back of her lessons, the students have created their own latrine maintenance committee, taking on responsibility for cleaning the latrines and keeping them secure. Inspired by Leah, they have also used their initiative to create an ingenious low-cost  hand washing system, known as `tippy taps` that also save water.

This holistic project is ultimately about poverty alleviation; providing people with the vital infrastructure and training they need to help themselves. We’re immensely proud of the hard work of all our staff and volunteers so far, but they couldn’t do any of this work without the generous donations of people like you on Global Giving.