A sad event is to be reported at the end of 2015. Our confidant on site, the "Technical Director", retired Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Randriamaro passed away on November 9th, 2015.
2015
Ambalafenomby 2015
The hurricane season 2014/2015 left damage - as everywhere on the island.
7 cyclones have hit the island and in addition to torrential rain, storms of more than 200 km/h have left their mark. The series of weather catastrophes began with cyclone "Adjali" on November 15, 2014 and hurricane "Chedza" in February 2015 destroyed the structures that had just been restored.
In March 2015 we were able to determine the effects on the village and school and give instructions for repairing the damage.
The water supply was again affected and - happily - the school buildings only to a small extent.
In the village, after the clean-up work after the last cyclone, life goes back to normal.
Despite the holiday season, almost all of the students were expecting us
and greeted us with applause and a song.
All the children in the village, even those who don't go to school yet, are waiting for us.
The two new teachers develop great ambition to get the students to do well.
21 students were registered for the state final examination CEPE.
During our visit in September/October at the beginning of the new school year, we were able to congratulate 19 students on passing their exams with a wristwatch as a gift. The bonus/malus incentive arrangement for the teachers has proven its worth – a bonus for every student who passes and a bonus deduction for every student who fails.
The result was possible because the teachers with special care also devoted themselves to the poorer students.
Even more gratifying than the absolute number of successful graduates...
... is the fact that all parents have permission to attend secondary school. Our message that only education is the basis for a better life for the next generation has got through.
As every year, at the beginning of the new school year, we procured and distributed the necessary teaching material for all students.
The newly enrolled children were given their school clothes and where necessary the school clothes of the previous pupils were supplemented or replaced.
Supplying the school canteen with food is causing increasing problems. It is sometimes impossible to obtain powdered milk for the children's morning meals, and dried milk then has to be replaced by much more expensive condensed milk. We have succeeded in reaching a supply agreement with the large industrial dairy SOCOLAIT that ensures the permanent availability of milk powder.
128 students are registered for the new school year 2015/2016. This means that the school's capacity limit has already been exceeded.
Together with the administration of the diocese's Catholic schools, we are now considering hiring a third teacher. For a short time, the church could be used as a temporary solution to create the necessary space. If the intake is limited to the children of the village, the 120 places in the school are certainly sufficient - a few years ago there were only 46 pupils in the school from the same potential pupils.
The acceptance or even poaching of children from the neighboring villages where there are state schools must be avoided.
Great pleasure in distributing the photos from the last visit
Everyone gathered again in the refectory, there was a small gift for everyone and a song for us to say goodbye.
At the bank, we were able to obtain power of disposal over the local bank account by presenting an official confirmation of being a resident in Madagascar, a necessary agreement, since our previous guarantor, Father Zocco SJ, can no longer fulfill his functions due to illness.
