Violette and Sophie's boxes have finally arrived at the Sarobidy Center!
The photos speak for themselves.
We congratulate them for their work, their enthusiasm and their energy. I remind you of last summer's article: here
Many thanks to Mrs. Yassa, director of the company Transcan who supported the deficiencies of the Malagasy freight forwarder Jetransit who did nothing to facilitate, quite the contrary, the administrative customs procedures.
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Live by Whats App, I leave the floor to Ernest:
The rainy season usually begins in mid-October when it rains every day from 5 p.m. to early morning. It continues to rain in November and December.
This year, we waited for the rain in October to cultivate the land, but it did not rain. It did not rain in October, nor in November. In December, drought began in the rice paddies and fields around Tana. Also due to the drought, there were many power cuts due to load shedding, as the hydroelectric plants could not operate.
Despite these difficulties, we prepared the Christmas party with the children: gifts, songs and dances for the parents and a good meal that brought everyone together. At the same time as the party, the COVID arrived in Tana. Two facilitators had to be hospitalized. Lili and I were also sick during the Christmas holidays. Everyone is healed now.
Due to COVID, the start of the school year has been postponed to 17/01. Schools were closed by the ministry.
The parents would have liked us to keep the children but we were not allowed to. We opened once a week for the canteen and to distribute homework. During this period, many children unfortunately returned to work.
3 days after the start of the school year on 01/17, the schools were closed again because of cyclone ANNA which arrived in Tana. For 4 days it rained non-stop. A little girl from the nearby Catholic school was swept away by the stream and could not be saved. The city of Tananarive was flooded, there were 30,000 victims. Schools were requisitioned to accommodate them.
The Sarobidy Center was not affected by the floods.
Schools were closed until 31/01
But cyclone BATSIRAI approaching Madagascar, schools were closed on 07/02. We do not yet have the final assessment for the country because many roads are cut (RN2) and certain regions of the South East are still inaccessible . Refueling must be done by air.
The city of Tananarive has 40,000 new victims.
Some families left the area before the cyclone. We will give you the names of the godchildren who had to leave school because of this move.
The brother of a child from Sarobidy has died. He fell by the force of the wind on the path that he and his family were following to go to safety.
The Sarobidy Center helped organize the funeral.
However, the school was able to reopen its doors the week of 07/02. The teachers are worried about the delay they have taken in the programs as well as the dropout of certain children.
This week we are preparing registrations for the CEPE. It is time for some of them (1/3) to issue a birth certificate. Indeed, some children have not been declared and therefore have no identity.
Two more cyclones are still expected this month.
We thank Ernest for this report.
In order to support the adults and of course the children of the Centre, you can, if you wish, send us a message, we will pass on.
Here are links to Madagascar news if you want to know more.
FLOODS
storm 1
cyclone 2
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Although the stock of handicrafts was reduced, the stand was enriched with sewing and knitting works made by members of the association. |
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| The municipality of Tauves and the Leisure and Culture association were kind enough to organize an exhibition and sale. The students of the painting course and the photo workshop donated their works. 110 works were exhibited and put up for sale for the benefit of our association.
We sincerely thank them for their work and generosity. |
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We were able to attend the opening, it was a very warm moment and very rich in exchanges.
The electricity fairy has arrived at the Sarobidy Center!
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The Feu Vert Pour le Développement association responded to our request for a donation to equip the Center with solar panels. 16 solar panels have been installed in addition to the 4 already existing, which gives an available power of 7.5 KVA enough to supply electric plates as well as computers. |
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In order to make up for the lessons that have been canceled due to COVID, the start of the school year has been brought forward to the beginning of September.
This year, the Sarobidy Center received a strong demand for registrations. Unfortunately, due to the lack of facilitators, these cannot all be taken into account.
The Center welcomes 170 children, 40 more than last year.
The children who were received at the CEPE all went to college at the start of the school year. We are still waiting for a few sponsors. Don't hesitate to talk about it around you!
On Sunday October 3rd we participated in the ARBP garage sale, see their site here.
The good weather only came in the afternoon but the sale went well.
Thank you to all of you who donated items for sale and to those who came out to help us.
This summer, 25 children from Sarobidy were able to go to summer camp
Thanks to the rice bowl recipe from Sainte Anne Sainte Marie school (75013).
Below is the thank you letter sent to the school.
Our campaign and your donations are aimed at financing a bus that is essential for transporting children to school.
Located in the suburbs of Antananarivo, the Center welcomes around 130 child workers or those threatened with work, Our 4 priorities are education, health, food and vocational training.
Following a bequest from one of our members, we acquired a house. The Center therefore moved a few kilometers away. Currently, school transport is carried out with a rental bus which costs 300 €/month, which represents a considerable sum.
Bus transport is essential for children, on the one hand because of the distances to be traveled, but even more so to increase their safety in the face of the recurring problems of child abductions which unfortunately still remain in Madagascar.
Every "out-of-school" trip involves an additional expense, which is not always possible or at least restricts the possibilities.
Our project to buy a bus would obviously reduce monthly costs and have more autonomy for cultural outings, sports, summer camps... It would be a wide opening to the outside, essential to the development of children.
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/les%20amis%20de%20sarobidy/collectes/bus
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For a year, Violette and Sophie have been preparing to go to Madagascar and do an internship at the Sarobidy Center. Unfortunately, they will not be able to go there this year because the borders are still closed. However, they will still be there a little bit: 4 and a half pallets will leave for Madagascar! We congratulate them for their enthusiasm and hard work! Violet tells us: "We had an appointment in May with Mr Philippe Heura, the mayor of our village (Le Broc 06) and an elected official, Agnès Adamo, who followed and advised us a great deal for this project. They also offered to help us finance our tickets. Thanks to the contacts of the mayor, we were able to reach the president of the Nice football club and obtain three autographed balls with a jersey and t-shirts. Mr Heura also contacted the company Transcan to allow us to transport things by sea. Transcan did not give us any particular limits. The town hall lent us a place to store the boxes. Our mothers helped us a lot to publicize our project. And we went to our old primary school and that of the village above (Bouillon), to present our project to the children. We approached Carrefour who gave us T-shirts. Decathlon could not help us, so we did some shopping for the children of Sarobidy. My mother also managed to recover tennis rackets from the Carros club, which no longer used them. Sophie's mother asked the teachers at her school to give the end of their ordered stock for this school year. » A big thank you to them! |
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18 out of 21 students passed their exam, the Elementary Primary School Certificate. We congratulate the children and their teachers for the work done! Thanks to this diploma, these students will be able to enter secondary school. Not all students are admitted to public college, for lack of places. We are therefore looking for new godfathers or godmothers to fund their college education. I remind you that the cost of sponsorship is €15 per month. (5€10 after tax deduction) This sum corresponds to tuition fees in a private college as well as the requested books and uniforms. The canteen and tutoring are offered by the Sarobidy Center. For more information click here
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Preparation for the CEPE (Certificate of Elementary Primary Studies) for students in the ASAMA class.
The CEPE is an important issue since it allows the student to enter 6th grade. It represents a lot of work for Sarobidy.
Management of exam registration files Organization of a mock exam with promising results Preparing a full kit of school supplies for exam day with a dose of vitamin C for “symbolic encouragement,” Ernest tells us. Preparation for the exam Teach the child to fill in his registration form, surname, first name, etc. Intensive support for revisions: the twenty students are accompanied by 2 facilitators (instead of just one in normal times)
A student prepares for the baccalaureate!
This is our first godchild who arrives in terminal. He benefits from private lessons to help him with his revisions. We'll have to think about a post-baccalaureate sponsorship! The goal would be for high school graduates to enter university. We send them all our support and our wishes for success!