One thing that I will always remember about my Malagasy students is their passion for education. So many times in the classroom, it was palpable. Experiencing this passion first hand was all the more inspiring to me given the great efforts that students often make to go to school. Sometimes, they must walk great distances to get to school in the countryside. Many children have chores that keep them busy for large portions of the day—fetching water, for example, in rural settings is difficult, grueling, and unending work. Electricity and resources are extremely limited or non-existent, making the students’ work in and outside of class much more challenging than their peers in richer countries could imagine. Despite these material hardships, Malagasy students show up at school ready and eager to learn. Their fire to learn is not diminished.
A university student of mine, Lalatiana Rahariniaina, knows about this passion as well as anyone. She is fundraising for a project to help send students to school in a rural village, Amberomena, near Moramanga. The students there, as in so many places in rural Madagascar, often lack the basic funds they need for school supplies and fees. She is raising money for students in this village so that their passion for education will not be wasted, so that their rights to a basic education will be respected. Please consider donating to this worthy cause. Your money will go a long way. As Lalatiana notes,
““Ny erikerika mahatondra-drano”, a Malagasy proverb which means ‘a little rain everyday will make the river flood’. Indeed, there is no small contribution, each of your effort counts and makes a big difference. With $1, you offer a child a copy book and 3 pens. With $5, you buy a school bag. With $10, you support his/her school fees of a year. With $35, you give the chance to a child to attend school for one year by paying for his/her school fees and supplies.”
Please check out her fundraising page and consider a donation that will not only keep children in school but also keep hope for a better future alive, for them and for Madagascar: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-send-kids-of-amberomena-to-school#/
