In early 2018 I was back in my second home, Madagascar, to get my fix of sambos, lemurs and other wildlife. Once again I had the pleasure of spending some time with SEED Madagascar’s conservation programme in Sainte Luce. SEED provide unique volunteering experiences working with the fabulous endemic wildlife and people of Madagascar – […]
In a few days I’ll be back in Heathrow after an unforgettable year in Madagascar. It’s hard to describe any time in this beautiful country without employing a few clichés. The people continue to amaze me with their resilience, ever-present smiles and welcoming friendliness. Sure, as a vazaha you attract more than a few curious […]
Back in January, we broke ground on the most exciting project of my year with Azafady in Madagascar: Soanierana CEG. A two-room brick and concrete school building, it would add capacity to an overcrowded middle school attended by around 560 students. With just 4 classrooms available before we started, most students were receiving just half […]
I first came to Madagascar as a short-term construction volunteer, way back in April 2012. Having fundraised almost £2,000 (thanks to generous donations from my family and friends), I joined Azafady’s Pioneer programme for three amazing weeks, and spent the time repairing a wooden primary school (read the old blog posts here). For me it […]
Open defecation occurs where people have no choice but to defecate outside, onto the ground, often in full view of other people1. It affects around 15% of the World’s population, almost entirely in poor areas. Besides being unpleasant to live with, it’s very bad for the health of the community – flies and other pests […]
May is Mental Health Awareness Month in many countries around the World. Back in the UK, it’s being marked from May 12-18th by a number of charities and institutions, including the Mental Health Foundation and Anxiety UK. Stigma “Why is mental health important?” “Isn’t it just in your head?” “Depression is just being sad, everybody […]
A quick update on Azafady’s school build in Soanierana: On the 12th of May, the April Pioneers (and short-term construction volunteers) began their first bush placement at Soanierana. Since I was last there in February, a lot of progress had been made: the walls were rendered, the floors of the classrooms rock-woven to provide foundations, […]
As part of the January Pioneer scheme, we went to the village of Mahialambo, in Mahatalaky commune, to carry out another wooden school repair. As before in Agnena, Belavenoka and Emagnevy, we replaced damaged parts of the walls, added a protective verandah around the outside, and repainted everything for additional weatherproofing. With the repairs complete, […]
Want to help us win £25,000 in funding for an amazing project? Head over to the EOCA website and vote for Project Miaro. You don’t need to register, or give your email address, or anything else. Just click 3 times and you’re done. Vote Project Miaro now! Don’t put it off! Voting closes March 31st. Detailed […]
Pioneers in the January-March scheme built 40 benches for Soanierana CEG (OK, the guides and I helped a bit). The new school project is kindly funded by the Flamingo Foundation.