The children of Voatovo get a school

What people in the three villages around the Mangoky Reserve want most is schools for their children. Mangoky Reserve has therefore developed a plan together with the village council for the construction of three village schools. Once the schools have been constructed, they will be taken over by the state school administration, but the teachers’ wages will need to be paid for by the parents – a great burden for the very poor population. In return, the villagers have promised to help Mangoky Reserve protect the forest and stop burning.

At the end of October 2020, Elyse, our Malagasy colleague, went to Vohitovo to organise the construction of the first school. A carpenter from Ambika, the centre of the municipality, joined him. In advance, the village council had fetched corrugated iron, iron rods and cement from the main road – at least two long days’ journey by ox cart. While this material was provided by Mangoky Reserve, the villagers brought along wood, sand and stones as their contribution. The funds for the school building were donated by the “Eine Welt Verein e.V.” in Germany.

After a week, the frame was set up and the roof covered. The next step will be the laying of clay walls and the concreting of the floor. Windows and doors have been ordered from a carpenter in Ambika. According to plan, the house should be rain- and wind-tight when the rainy season sets in in December. What is still missing are tables and benches – and a teacher.

Elyse also visited the other two villages, Mitahy and Soatanimbary, meeting with the village elders to plan the construction of the schools with them. After the rainy season in April, work should start in Soatanimbary, while Mitahy still has to organise some papers from the school office. The people expressed their joy and gratefulness that Mangoky Reserve kept its promises and did not forget them. Even if it goes slowly and our resources are limited, we hope that there will be schoolhouses in all three villages by the end of coming year, 2021. Then we can dream of finding good teachers who do “green lessons” with the children and thus actively contribute to the protection of the forest and the animals along the Mangoky River.