Solar cookers for the school in Fiadanana

Christmas is a very important holiday for our villages in Madagascar. A Christmas tree is part of the celebration. In our first school in Fiadanana the trees is, as always, outside. In the village of Fiarenana the tree is inside the classroom.

For a few years now (since 2007) Santa Claus comes and visits the school children with gifts. This year Santa brought orange bags to both our schools with a toothbrush, toothpaste, a pencil, a ball pen, and soap. Santa also bought a package of cookies and a sweet treat (often the only sweet they get for Christmas).

An yes, with the end of the tax year coming up, the tribute card challenge is still on until December 31.

HAPPY 2011!

Thank you

Ihanta, Jeannette and Markus

Links:

• Santa in the school in 2007

A big Thank You to all of our donors who supported our solar cooker project over the years! You make our work possible. We could not do it without you! 

In the photo you can see the solar water pasteurizer in the back of the classroom (in the left corner). In the age of text messages (SMS) we can communicate with our Zahana contacts and our teachers in the villages on a regular basis at low cost. The minimalist report for November from December 15, 2011 reads as follows [text in brackets is added to provide context for the readers]

Fiarenana:

• 48 students: 22 boys, 26 girls aged from 4 to 13 [attended school in November]
• 2 levels of teaching: level 0 (beginner), level 1
• Parents monthly meeting: 1st Saturday
• School garden: vegetables [are being planted by the students]
• Nursery: 1199 baby trees (eucalyptus, papaya, bibasse, mango) ready to be planted, seeds of moringa olifera [ready to be planted again by our master gardener].

Fiadanana [our first village]:

• 90 students [currently attend school]
• School garden: vegetables [are being planted by the students]
• [School] Poultry project: 6 hens, roosters [this is an hands-on income or protein generating project for the students as part of our microcredit efforts]
• 106 baby trees and flowers planted around the school
• Environment: asking people to collect plastic bags spread in village
• Nursery: lot of baby trees [grown by our second gardener]

[Both] gardeners were told to keep all baby trees for Zahana [planting 15,000 trees] project.

- End text/SMS -

Last but not least:

Did you know you can make donations to any our Zahana projects at GlobalGiving as gifts to friends and loved ones this holiday season? This gift in honor of someone might relieve you of the agonizing thought: what could I give her or him? (and help Zahana at the same time). Or, the other way around, your friends might give you a gift card for your favorite project?

To make a gift in honor of somebody is easy: In a few minutes (and a few clicks) you can create a personalized greeting card via our project pages on GlobalGiving. Just click on the third giving option “gift or in honor of” right under the big orange “donate” button on any of our 4 project pages.

We just recently added our latest project Planting 15000 trees in Madagascar (#9470), which is eligible as well. For  details about the ‘tribute card challenge’ please visit our website.

Thank you for your support.

Ihanta, Jeannette and Markus

Links:

• Planting 15,000 trees around our villages in Madagascar
• A dedicated micro credit fund for rural Madagascar (#4497)
• A community school for all (children) in Fiarenana (#3254)

Sometimes the success of our participatory community development approach is best illustrated with a project we (Zahana) don’t do. Metal fences now surround all seven of Fiadanana’s communal water faucets for over 2 years. Built with a solid concrete foundation, the metal fences are holding up well.

All of the seven metal fences were built and paid for by the community of Fiadanana, because they saw a need for it, without asking Zahana for a financial contribution. This is a prime example of a community taking ownership of and responsibility for their own resources.

Some history: In 2006, the community built their communal water system with seven communal water faucets (see website) with support from Zahana. Back in 2006 we thought (see photos) communal water faucets could become a green oasis in the village, beautifying everything through colorful flowers and greenery, easily watered by the runoff.

Little did we know that the cows had no appreciation for esthetics, but a great hunger for juicy fresh green ‘stuff’. To keep the cattle out, the community decided to use concrete and metal, keeping their seven communal water sources safe for years to come.

Ihanta, Jeannette and Markus

Links:

• Building the communla water system