Maki-Maki-Akoho!
Part 2 of my trip to Madagascar in April – May 2012 with Azafady. If you missed part 1, catch up here.
During work hours over the next week, we dug holes for the veranda supports and foundations, and positioned hundreds of rocks around the edges of the school which would form the hardcore of the foundations. The construction team, a group of hardy Malagasy who work full-time for Azafady on building projects, had begun fitting the rafters to support the roof. Despite outbreaks of torrential rain, and various people off sick, we were making good progress on the school repairs – good news, because if we finished early we’d have the chance to visit a picturesque beach looking out onto the Indian Ocean.
School repairs underway
Midway through the week we divided into smaller groups, and began planning lessons to teach the pupils on three subjects – English, Environmental Studies and Health & Hygiene. About an hour long, each lesson was to be taught to a group of about 60 kids aged 6-13. As part of the Environmental Studies group, I helped to teach the kids about endemic animals, and the value of Madagascar’s unique habitats. We started with an explanation of endemicity, before asking the kids whether various animals were endemic to Madagascar or not, acting out each animal to the guffaws of the children. With the aid of Tinahy, a guide who translated from English to Malagasy, Monique (Pioneer) told the kids a story about an animal looking for a suitable home, with the rest of us acting out each role in the story (Pioneer Nick’s rat was particularly well received). We finished up with a game called Maki-Maki-Akoho, the Malagasy equivalent of Duck-Duck-Goose (Lemur-Lemur-Chicken), which the kids resoundingly thrashed us at.
One morning we saw a Malagasy funeral procession go past on the main road. Brightly coloured and very loud, it is in stark contrast to services in England. The deceased was wrapped in lambas and borne on a stretcher, whilst what seemed like hundreds of people danced and chanted along the road before and after him. One thing that struck all of us throughout our time in Madagascar was the cheeriness of the people – whether faced by death, difficult situations or extreme poverty, they were always smiling and friendly. The lifestyle could not be more different to our own, with “African Time” meaning that things are done when somebody gets round to it, a laid back approach but framed by periods of hard work. Children are also expected to play a part from an early age, accompanying parents and elder siblings to work before taking on manual labour themselves ar0und the age of 7 or 8.
In the evening on the 21st April, we had a special treat – a Bush Party. First we had fantastic food, with zebu, zebu kebabs, four types of salad, English-style chips, cassava balls, the obligatory rice and an amazing banoffee pie for dessert. As the stars came out and the vazaha were thoroughly stuffed from all the food, a local band arrived. Together with a vast crowd of locals, we crowded round a bonfire in the field to watch. The band had djembe (kind of a drum), a local version of an acoustic guitar, a kind of musical bow (jejy lava?) singers and a troupe of really energetic dancers. After watching for an hour or so (and drinking a fair amount of local Three Horses Beer), most of the volunteers got up to join in, trying in vain to keep up with the dancers. In the heat of the roaring fire and the never-slowing music we were dripping with sweat, laughing along with the locals. The party continued until long after midnight, with the people of Emagnevy and Mahatalaky joining in the dancing later on.
Bex at the summit
The next day was a break from construction, with the choice of resting at camp, bathing in a nearby river, or climbing one of the small mountains nearby. For me this was no choice at all, so with a bunch of the others I set off for the mountain around 9AM. The climb was fairly gentle, but with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees and little shade, it was sometimes hard work. I later found out the mountain was called “the Treasury”, because in local legend the daughter of a rich king hid all of his wealth in the hillside after he died. It is said there is a place on the mountain called “that which cannot be seen or smelt” – it was there that the 47 slaves who carried the treasure were executed to keep the location secret. When we finally reached the summit, the view was amazing in all directions, with barely a cloud in sight. In the foreground we could see our campsite, the school grounds and the road down to Mahatalaky, while in the distance were Beandry (another school the Pioneers would be working on later), St Luce (home to Azafady’s Conservation Programme), Fort Dauphin and the sea.
Back to working on the school the next day, with just a week left to go in the bush. We had now begun to concrete in the foundations, layering rocks and cement to build up the outer edge of the veranda before filling in the gap between this and the existing foundations. Of all the construction tasks, cement mixing was the most exhausting, as it was all done by hand, using shovels and bent backs. Others in the team had begun to replace broken and rotten planks on the school building, and making a door to replace the existing damaged entrance. Once the foundations were complete, all that remained was to paint the exterior with white walls and green detailing. The construction team had to fit the tin roof of the veranda, since we were not allowed to work above 6 foot off the ground for safety/insurance reasons.
The Witch Doctor
Kids, World Malaria Day
At the invitation of Monica, a Peace Corps volunteer working in Mahatalaky’s health centre, we took part in the events on World Malaria Day, April 25th. Malaria is a huge problem in Madagascar, with over half a million suspected cases in 2009. The health centre in Mahatalaky, which has just one nurse, no doctors, and very basic equipment, deals with thousands of people in the local area, making malaria awareness even more important. Monica had invited all the local children and their families down to the site of a new secondary school, organising a huge mural painting and other activities for the kids. The other volunteers and I contributed by performing a play about the risks of malaria, the importance of mosquito nets (not using them for fishing), and what to do when someone displays symptoms. With silly costumes made out of paper and an excellent performance from Lloyd as the Witch Doctor, we got a few laughs whilst hopefully providing a memorable look at malaria awareness.
Final part coming next Thursday (African Time). Want to read more about Azafady’s endeavours in Madagascar, and the experiences of other volunteers? Check out the Azafady blog.