A new school has been opened in Madagascar
Posted in Sustainability Channel
The Voiala project is a multitude of local community actions aimed at regenerating and protecting the heavily exploited natural resources of the African island, including programmes to generate awareness and to train the island’s inhabitants in the improvement of their farming methods.
The village of Sahavondronina in Madagascar is located on the upland 400 km south of the capital towards the east coast. It has for years been one of the main centres of Voiala‘s action, the long-term project with which Favini has been collaborating since 2009.
So it is in Sahavondronina village that in November, after a series of delays caused by the arrival of the rainy season, that the construction of a new classroom was completed and at the same time, the infrastructure of the old building was restored.
New infrastructure and reforestation in Madagascar
We can see on the map of the Haute Matsiatra region, precisely where Voiala focuses its activities and they are in addition to the important milestone achieved with the new school opening. These reforestation interventions and new infrastructures have been implemented across various locations on the island:
- In Sahamavo a well for water was built, plus a beekeeping activity commenced;
- In Sarina a warehouse was built and is used by more than fifty people to store rice and other goods.
- In the locality of Ambalamarina an orchard has been created with 150 orange seedlings and a reforestation site with eucalyptus plants;
- Permaculture was carried out in Andoharena;
- Sahavondronina is where a plant nursery has been situated for the growing on of reforestation plants and is also where the reforestation activities have been carried out.
A new school in Sahavondronina
The school plays a fundamental role within the Voiala project: it is here that the seeds for the future are “planted”. The new structure welcomes children and adolescents coming from not only from Sahavondronina village, but also those from neighbouring villages.
The involvement of local community has always been one of the cornerstones of the Voiala project, which predominantly wants to create a gradual “awareness” of the damage that 2000 years of exploitation have brought to the Malagasy ecosystem.
Favini has been educating on environmental problems, contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture and promoting the protection of forestry through planting programmes and strategies that promote ecotourism.
The ultimate goal is to provide a model to follow for the neighbouring communities that, thanks to the protection and care of their environment, will enjoy a better quality of life.
The new school opening is a fundamental part of the project, because education and training of the local population is essential for conscious management of their environment, in order to enhance and protect it.