Association Soleil Marmailles

Des jeux sans le riz...

C'est la version malgache du principe des empereurs romains :« du pain et des jeux ». Le but était de flatter le peuple afin de s'attirer la bienveillance de l'opinion populaire et d'éviter les révoltes. Deux milles ans plus tard, on utilise la même recette remise au goût du jour mais à la sauce malgache. Contrairement à leurs pairs de l'antiquité, les dirigeants de la Grande Ile n'ont pas prévu la deuxième partie du précepte : le riz... La situation alimentaire est d'ailleurs dramatique mais l'avenir nous dira si cette « adaptation » fonctionne aussi bien que l'original.

Cette réflexion m'est venue en passant devant la construction d'un grand stade de rugby à Tanà. La scène attire immanquablement l'attention. Dans le pays du « mora mora », que l'on peut traduire « doucement doucement », il est étonnant de voir une telle activité. En y regardant de plus près je découvre rapidement le pourquoi du comment : c'est une entreprise étrangère qui est aux manettes. De plus près encore, je m'aperçois que ce ne sont pas les mêmes étrangers que lors du régime précédent... Le vent a tourné et le peuple Malgache fait les frais des turbulences dont les origines se trouvent à des milliers de kilomètres.

Le peuple Malgache ? Personne ne s'intéresse vraiment à lui. Bien sûr, il ne manquera pas de venir aux différentes festivités organisées dans ce stade tout neuf. Ainsi, il y oubliera pour quelques instants les difficultés du quotidien.

En marge de tout ce remue-ménage, notre petite association continue ses actions grâce aux Inner Wheel. Nous les remercions une fois de plus. Nous construisons un puits pour l'usage des enfants de l'école et les maraîchages que nous avons mis en place. Les moyens sont différents. Quand la construction d'un stade se chiffre en dizaines de millions d'euros, nous faisons attention à chaque euro dépensé. Les objectifs ne sont pas les mêmes, nous nous œuvrons pour que quelques enfants survivent. Le temps des jeux viendra plus tard.

Tiana RAZAFINTSALAMA

Vice président Soleil Marmailles

News of our actions in Madagascar
 
The ongoing political crisis is responsible for a growing insecurity  in the city or in the rural area.
 
In our neighborhood in Antananarivo, an employee of 65 years was attacked by three thugs at 4 o'clock in the afternoon for a mobile phone which I estimate its value to  less than 20 euros! Fortunately the neighbors   came to rescue him and he escaped with a few wounds to the face.
 
In the countryside, the situation is worse. Banditry is multiplying. The killings are parts of the daily life of a lot of  villagers. Never the thefts of zebus have been so frequent and violent. Any excuse leads to attack and steal.
 
It is difficult to figure out a development of economic activity in this context.
 
Regarding our actions, they evolve slowly but are on their way.
Regarding the tractor, the first months were marked by some repairs (ah cheap Chinese equipment ! ) and the handling of the tractor, now things should be more stable. In fact, the main function of the tractor is the transportation of agricultural products and bricks for the villagers. It generated a little less than 100 euros that were used to replace some parts and to buy diesel to plow the fields of students. Thanks to the tractor, the schools self financed the plowing of its fields.

Regarding the henhouse, I bought forty young hens in March. Most of them were  males ... Six young chickens died. Snakes are suspected. We sold 3 males because they reached maturity. The money was used to buy diesel. It remains thirty chickens. Cycles are 5 to 6 months and not three months as I thought. The first hen has laid 5 eggs ... The henhouse should find its pace in September.

The Inner Wheel gave us the pleasure to visit us for the 5th anniversary of the Margarett school. We thank them very much for their interest in our Amparihibe children.

The children expressed their gratitude with a little show that delighted guests as well as parents.

We spent a day full with emotions. Thanks again to the Inner Wheel.

News from Amparihibe is excellent. We received a tractor with a plow and a trailer. This donation was made by the Trust Two Walters. They also helped us to complete the construction of the chicken coop. We thank them very much.  

The tractor has already carried the sand required for the construction of the henhouse. Again children and grown ups worked together .

I will bring you the first pictures of the grooves made ​​by the tractor early April. We are at the end of the rainy season. Plowing will begin when the soil is a little dryer.

The icing on the cake: the harvest was very good. The school has further increased its rice production. We will at least double the production of last year! Parents of students came to harvest. They were very motivated! It must be said that the arrival of farm equipment has lifted the spirirs of all the villagers. Margarett school will rent the tractor  to the villagers. Production increase and each school should be autonomous in less than a year! I'll let you know.

www.soleil-marmailles.com

A cycle of rice cultivation ...
The first pictures were taken last December. Children and grown worked together   ...

The last pictures were taken 3 months later. Making work pay !  It's good to see it.

We planned to inaugurate the new classroom funded by the Bel Corporate Foundation for the walls and by the alumni of Saint Michel ( Antananarivo ) de France (ASMF) for tables and benches. Unfortunately the bridge Sakay, located halfway between Tana and Amparihibe was out of use. This bridge was the victim of  thieves of scrap. They broke the concrete to remove the iron frames. Thus, the structure was weakened and collapsed in the middle. This incident illustrates the state of the country and all the work remaining. However, news is quite good. The 82 children enrolled are frequent and regularly attend literacy  and agriculture classes.

The construction of the henhouse of the Margarett school is going well. The walls were erected, we still have to put  the thatched roof on.

Out of bad come good... I took advantage from my short stay in " La Terre Rouge " to consider our activities in Tana. In particular, I valued the progress of the home built for street children and discussed with mothers who received micro-credits.

The main work of the home is almost complete. Congratulations to Nadia. The rest can be done gradually, little by little. Monthly meetings of Street Children who were previously outdoors will soon be done in the new room. Now, these meetings will no longer be subject to the whims of the rain.

Regarding the micro-credits, things are looking good. Let's recall that we loaned 40 euros for four mothers in early July to "capitalize" their micro-enterprise. Their micro-enterprise consisted largely of small businesses: buying and selling of scrap sales or of coal and beans ... We also loaned 40 euros for a farmer.
Paying back was not a big issue for mothers. They were able to pay regularly, two of them even paid earlier. The farmer had more difficulty, the production did not reach his hopes. He could not repay the loan but could think to do so in the next coming weeks.
For all families this influx of money changed their lives. The main change is the improvement of their alimentation. Families eat better, those who used to eat only once a day have now three daily meals. In addition, they were able to meet the needs they could not meet until today: electricity and school supplies. Beside those dramatic benefits, there are other sources of satisfaction. Until then, the family borrowed from loan usurers who choked them. Another side effect is the development of an economy between villagers who are part of this micro credit. The farmer will sell its products to retailers. 
Finally, a big thank you to the 'ASMF donated to help fund five other projects of micro-credits.

The third school funded by the Bel Foundation is ready! A big thank you to the foundation. Thank to it, we can send forty more children to school for the beginning of September.

The tables and benches making funded by  the ASMF ( Alumnis Saint Michel de France) is delayed . It will still be ready for the children after the holidays. A big thank you to the association.

Everything is for the best in our little village. Autonomy slowly takes place. During the past year, two major steps were made. The first is a canteen for the school children. The youngest eat every Friday, it is the day they are in the fields. The older are in the field every day, this is why they have a daily meal.  Regarding the diversity of their alimentation, we are helped by a World Bank-funded organization: SEECALINE. The local representative of the organization comes one Friday per month to provide a food education class.

The second step is the beginning of autonomy in school supplies. Agricultural production was sufficient for selling most of it in order to buy some school supplies that were missing ...