Our action area
The geographic area where our action takes place
was chosen with care. The Menabe Region is one of the poorest in Madagascar.
Aboalimena is a remote village, with little to attract tourists although
not very far of the “Great Tsingy”, a natural curiosity.
It is not easy to reach by road. The main road links Antananarivo
to Menabe by Antsirabe, Miandrivazo, and through a rather poorly maintained
section to Malaimbandy, Mahabo and Morondava. The journey by daily
minibus lines from Antananarivo to Morondava lasts 12 hours. A 4 hour-
drive from Morondava to Belo Tsiribihina is followed by the crossing
of the wide Tsiribihina River. The last part, a 70 km travel is made
by truck, or possibly by an ox-driven cart, a traditional means of
transport. In the rain and hurricanes season, from December to March,
most of the roads are cut off. This situation explains why international
aid or government programmes cannot reach Aboalimena.
Aboalimena is a 8,500 inhabitant-village, the district
being divided into 8 Fokon’tany. Some hamlets belonging to the
village of Aboalimena are 10 km away from the centre, connected by
ox tracks. The council hall is situated in the village centre, as
well as the local “hospital”, a primary healthcare unit.
There is neither water supply in Aboalimena, nor electricity, or waste
water drainage. Most inhabitants are farmers or cattle breeders. The
main crop is paddy, rice being the staple food in Madagascar, but
the changes in the River Manambolo bed due to the hurricanes have
dried some paddy fields. Other crops are maize, manioc or sweet potatoes.
Cattle breeding is usually a family trade, oxen are used for transportation
and as a saving stock. People are generally very poor, as an example,
the mean salary of a school teacher is about 100,000 ariary per month
(about 40 €)
Nazarena-France Chairwoman, Suzanne Chazan-Gillig
had been in the Menabe area in the 70s, and she has come back every
year since 2002. She had the opportunity to build up trustful relationship
with the local project promoter, Dera Haidaraly, with the Aboalimena
council and with traditional lineage top men. Already in 2006 she
could measure the effects of Nazarena-France’s support, which
was implemented thanks to our members‘ donations, with -up to
now- no other subsidy.
Supplying new means
for sound projects
Nazarena-France’s project is supported by our
thorough knowledge of the intervention area and of the ways of life
of its inhabitants. We pay much attention to the output of our actions
and we ask full co-operation from the villagers in order to avoid
a situation of a one-way aid with no involvement.
New developments since the creation of the NGO in
2005 are:
A
farming school in Aboalimena (2007)
The development of
experimental vegetable crops (2006)
A healthcare and mutual
drug supply system project (2006)
A paddy storage operation
(2005)
Support to local associations
A Farming School in
Aboalimena (2007)
| The creation of a farming
school in Aboalimena is our most challenging project. The school
will deliver farming education and general teaching to young
men and women who otherwise would have no opportunity to follow
a regular teaching course. Thanks to the support of the village
council and its wise men board, so far a 2.5 hectares field
(but possibly twice as big) has been attributed to the future
school, situated right in the centre of the village. This field
is presently being cleared for cultivation and building, tree
stumps have been removed and a fence is being built.
Our projects have been submitted and approved
by local government officials, and we expect this will allow
Malagasy teachers to be appointed on a regular basis as soon
as the school is opened. But it is our intention to start building
four classrooms during the 2008 dry season for about 20 boys
and girls, and as soon as possible to start a second building
for a boarding-school and a toilets out building. We plan a
traditional building with a concrete floor, a wooden frame and
a corrugated iron roof. An allowance will be reserved for school
furniture (benches, tables, blackboards, books and possibly
little office automation), and farming tools (tools, a plough,
a handcart, watering cans, the digging of a well and the setting
a pump)
|
 |
The development of
experimental vegetable crops (2006)
 |
One of the first projects implemented
in Aboalimena was developing a one hectare field for vegetable
crops. With donations from Nazarena-France this field was cleared,
fenced, and a 9 meter-deep well was dug to reach the ground
water. Nazarena Madagascar was provided with farming tools and
free seeds (tomatoes, local pot herbs, onions, peppers and eggplants).
A first crop was reaped in 2006, and pot herbs
could be sold to the neighbourhood, as well as peppers and eggplants,
and hot red peppers which are very much appreciated on the local
market. This diversification experiment will be extended to
“bahiboho”lands, flooded lands situated on the river
banks, allowing farming when the water level drops.
|
A healthcare
and mutual drug supply system (2006)
An enquiry was done in the
surrounding hamlets of Aboalimena during the 2006 dry season,
which showed that the healthcare system was far from being optimal
and did not correspond to the needs of the inhabitants living
in remote hamlets or temporary encampments. Medical assistance
was supplied for urgent needs, including some drug delivery
or presbyopic second-hand glasses, but our intention was to
evaluate a mutual drug supply system. However we felt that under
the present conditions (no trained person in charge, no secured
supply and medicine chest) it was too early to launch this operation
on a larger scale. |
|
A paddy storage
operation (2005)
During two successive years, Nazarena-France has
bought paddy rice on the local market in order to organise its storage
for the shortage period between the last crop and the new one. The
paddy distribution was entrusted to the local women’ associations
with variable success. Although this operation allowed the poorest
people to be helped, as soon as getting paddy became less expensive,
the intervention was ended.
Nazarena-France committee
Chairwoman : Dr Suzanne CHAZAN (Anthropologist,
Madagascar specialist)
Vice-chairman : Dera
HAIDARALY ( Malagasy researcher, Chairman of Nazarena-Madagascar)
Vice-chairwoman : Aline
ROYET ( Teacher)
Secretary : Dr Emmanuel
FAUROUX ( Anthropologist, Madagascar specialist)
Treasurer : Dr Jean
Bernard CHAZAN ( Medical doctor )
Deputee Secretary : Patrick
DIEUDONNÉ (Geographer, Madagascar specialist)
Nazarena-France, 144 rue de l'Arnel 34070 Montpellier
France, phone/fax (33)467 20 12 59, mail to info@nazarena.org
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