Peace Corps, Antsaravibe - Recently Updated Pages

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News, Updates, Crazy Stories of Madagascar Life

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:32:56 CDT

Check this page every once in a while to see what's new in village and in my life here, project-related and otherwise.

Stories coming soon!

Hometown Support

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:25:26 CDT

Thank You All!

On my recent visit home to the States, a wealth of support was generated for the projects with which I am involved in Madagascar. Some friends and family were kind enough to make generous donations to various projects.

It is this kind of motivation, care, and involvement from home that makes my work in Madagascar more fruitful, while forging cross continental and cross-cultural connections that are vital to our increasing understanding and solidarity among our global human community.

Without your generosity and interest, there would be little hope for successful sustainable development in my village. Thank you so much for all of your support!

Some Notable Gifts
Click on the links below to read about each donation.

Laptop Computer for Radio / Community Center

Camcorder and Art Supplies

PODER Student Association's Generous Donation

Audio Programs for Creating Radio Content

Filmaker / Radio Producer Friend Donates Audio Programs

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:23:27 CDT

David has been making films since before I met him in college, and has since continued onto a job producing radio programming in California.

After hearing about the new projects that I’m working on in my village, especially the community radio project, David offered to send me some computer programs to help us diversify and improve our ability to create audio content.

Who knows, says David, he may even be able to swing a trip out to Madagascar and personally train us in their use! Here’s hoping.

Thank you David for all of your support! Check out David’s recent film and audio work here.

PODER Makes Generous Donation

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:17:48 CDT

PODER Donates Over $200!

Ever active and supportive of projects in village, the North Kingstown High School PODER students’ association had collected over $200 in donations to present to me during my visit home. I was able to visit PODER at NKHS on several occasions, and was truly inspired to see how dedicated the group is to understanding and contributing to the improvement of global inequality issues. (Click here to learn more about PODER’s activities).

With Spanish teacher and club adviser Mrs. Resch leading the way, PODER is making waves at the high school and around the NK community.

It doesn’t matter that the group is small, she says. They have enough creativity, passion, and motivation to create change and raise awareness on a large scale.

The donation was put towards the purchase of two new solar charge controllers for the radio station. The two original controllers were unfortunately already damaged after just a few months of broadcasting. The new charge controllers are both higher-powered (each able to regulate up to 40 Amperes of energy, leaving us with a bit of room for adding new small electrical items to our studio) and longer lasting than the first models.

The radio station is completely solar powered. Charge controllers are an essential part of any solar energy array, ensuring that there is no surge of current from the panels to the batteries and equipment that they are powering, or vice versa. Preventing solar power surges is crucial to prevent the damage and destruction of the radio equipment.

It wouldn’t have been possible without your hard work and dedication, PODER! Your support and generosity do not go unnoticed. You are truly model students, community members, and global citizens, and I look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts.

Family Donates Camcorder, Art Supplies

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:13:11 CDT

Cousin Carmen just happened to have exactly what I was looking for for our radio: a camcorder!

“Every time we clean the closets, my husband will tell me to get rid of this. We haven’t used it in years, but I refused to throw it out,” says Carmen as she presents me with the camcorder.

I had mentioned to Carmen that we were hoping to raise funds to purchase a camcorder to use in village for making educational films – interviews, news reports, skits, plays, etc. – on the issues affecting our village. This is the first step towards our eventual goal of creating a rural television station alongside the radio, and a means of providing visual educational media to our community during weekly movie nights.

Educational videos are scarce in Madagascar and in the Malagasy language, yet the small collection that we have been showing to kids and adults alike at the radio (on the laptop screens) have been very well received.

It was Jaz, the Reuters correspondent for Madagascar who produced a film about our radio station, who suggested that we turn our frustrations in the lack of educational films into a creative opportunity, and start to make our own! With Carmen’s generous donation, we can start to make that happen!

Carmen also donated several pounds of art supplies: markers, pencils, pens, crayons, chalk, and more! Carmen works for Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, from where she collected the materials.

“I have a closet-full of arts and crafts and educational tools in my office,” she said during our first discussion about project needs in village. “We get way more donations than we have use for, and so much of it just sits there. I’d love to send you home with some things that you could use!”

The donated supplies will be divided between the radio/community center – where we offer a small collection of books as well as kids’ art materials – and the local primary school. Public schools in rural Madagascar generally do not have any such arts and crafts supplies for their students; neither do families have the resources to buy these items for their children.

Thanks to Carmen, we are changing that! All of my love and gratitude to you for helping to improve the opportunities for children in village.

New Computer for Community Radio

lilturns — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:10:29 CDT

Long-time friend and “sister” Amber donated a Macintosh Powerbook laptop computer to the community radio project.

“It’s not being used here,” says Amber. “It could be put to a lot better use out there.”

The community radio station, RMA, also functions as a community center where various educational community activities take place. (To read more about this project, click here.) The computer will be an addition to the radio’s two existing laptops, one of which is used for mixing and broadcast inside the studio, the other of which is used for both administrative and community teaching purposes. The addition of a second laptop will allow RMA to expand its info-tech services to the village population.

We use our laptops to teach basic computer skills, from creating documents, to typing, to simply manipulating a mouse and understanding a computer’s organization.

The radio/community center also provides typing, printing, and now scanning services to the village. We provide these services at the same cost as in the nearest town (about 25 kilometers away), which adds to the advantages of having these services available at such close proximities.

Thank you Amber, for thinking of our community’s well-being!

PODER Student Organization

lilturns — Sat, 12 May 2007 12:17:36 CDT

The members of PODER are showing that a small group of dedicated high school students can make big differences in less-privileged communities, even thousands of miles away from their own country!

What is PODER?
PODER is a student organization at North Kingstown High School created in collaboration with Cynthia Resch, Spanish teacher and inspiration for thousands of students over her many teaching years.

PODER's vision is to support community development projects in the developing world through activism on the NKHS campus, while raising awareness about the issues they choose to support among the general student population.

PODER Projects, Around the World
Over the years since its inception, PODER has worked on behalf of marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic, and now has extended its efforts to Madagascar.

The association has supported various causes: for the Dominican Republic, they
collected materials to send to a community-run nursery school that was created to provide an education and simply a place to go for the many local young children who were being left alone to wander the streets, as the local public schools are already at capacity.

In Madagascar, PODER is working to fortify two projects going on in our village -- it is using its organizational power to support the community radio station, as well as to raise funds for the renovation of the primary school.

The members have used a wealth of creative channels to raise awareness and funds for their causes, collecting donations at school events, holding a Teacher Swap challenge at NKHS, selling crafts, and more. Their support and solidarity continues to be vital to the life of projects in village, as well as an inspiration for the community who benefits from their efforts. As the link between PODER and my host community here in Madagascar, I am ever grateful for their enthusiasm, energy, and support!

Special Thanks
PODER would not be possible without the tireless, optimistic efforts of Mrs. Resch. She never ceases to encourage and inspire the students who she teaches to be global citizens, concerned with international events and foreign cultures, and to become informed on the inequalities that characterize our global community.

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be who and where I am today either!
Many thanks!
Mil gracias!
Misaotra betsaka!

North Kingstown Rotary Club

lilturns — Fri, 11 May 2007 08:33:19 CDT

The North Kingstown Rotary Club Supports Our Village!

The members of the North Kingstown Rotary Club truly embody the vision of Rotary International, putting service above self while engaging in sustainable development assistance projects in less privileged countries. Although none of the members have ever been to the village, the contributions that they have made to the community demonstrate their commitment to our well-being and sustainable development.

Support for the Community Radio Station

Without the help of the NK Rotary, the impact of our community radio station would be minimal to say the least.Through the US Embassy Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF II) and some private support, we were able to fund the purchase and installation of our radio’s equipment and solar array, and to fund training as well. However we were not able to secure funding for a tower for our radio’s antenna.

With a long personal history of support from their association, I reached out to the North Kingstown Rotary Club with a request to help us get our antenna purchased and installed. Within a short amount of time, the Club agreed to support our project and provided us with the necessary funding to get the antenna taken care of.

We spent the month of March arranging for the purchase of an antenna tower. We found a tower that was built two years ago, never used, and stored in the warehouse of the friend of one of our project partners. With help from experts, we assessed that the tower was in great condition, and decided to purchase it. The seller quickly had the entire 19 meters of the tower scoured and re-painted with a rust-proof coating. Meanwhile, we found the cables, clamps, supports, cement, steel reinforcement, screws, and other items necessary for the complete installation of the tower. We had it transported to our village from the city where we purchased it (a four-hour drive), but could only get within 5 kilometers of our destination because of the awful road conditions. The rainy season was a heavy one, with lots of late-season cyclone activity in the area as well, which delayed both the transportation and installation of the tower.

Working Through Difficulty

Despite the adverse weather conditions, we pulled together to get all of the tower pieces and extra supplies into the village. Things were brought into village the last five kilometers via zebu-pulled cart, and stored in an area protected from the still turbulent weather until the end of March. Finally, when the rains had seemed to pass for good for the season, we began digging the tower’s foundation.

Very soon, we’ll be able to move our antenna off of the mango tree and onto its new, stable, safe, sturdy tower! With this vital piece of equipment in place, we can assure that the important messages broadcast by the radio reach all of our targeted listeners – the entire village spread out through our vast rural area – and even some outlying areas receiving spillover signal from our radio station.

Without the support of outside organizations like the North Kingstown Rotary Club, projects like Radio Meva Ankarana would not be able to build the foundations needed to assure a sustainable future.

We are grateful to the NK Rotary Club for all of their past and continuing support!

Collaboration With Outside Organizations

lilturns — Fri, 11 May 2007 08:27:11 CDT

North Kingstown Rotary Club
helps with the community radio station

North Kingstown High School - PODER student organization
raising money and awareness for various projects in village

About Madagascar

lilturns — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:44:27 CDT

The following information has been borrowed from the Peace Corps Congressional Budget Justification Fiscal Year 2006.

Madagascar Profile

Capital ............................................................Antananarivo
Population ...........................................................16 million
Annual per capita income ...........................................$230
GDP growth ..............................................................-12.7%
Adult illiteracy rate ............................................Male:26.4%
Female:40.3%
Infant mortality rate .........................84 per 1,000 live births
Immunization rate ..................................................DPT:62%
Measles:61%
Foreign direct investment .....................................$8 million
Access to safe water ...........................................Urban:85%
Rural:31%
HIV/AIDS prevalence ...................................................0.3%
Religions..............................................Indigenous beliefs:47%
Christianity:45%
Islam:7%
Official language .......................................................Malagasy

The government of President Marc Ravalomanana, backed by its international partners, has embarked on economic recovery and poverty reduction and is committed to fighting environmental degradation, poor health, and the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Numerous international development agencies and volunteer organizations have been welcomed to Madagascar, joining the growing number of Malagasy nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to work with the people of Madagascar on their development efforts. Madagascar is ranked 150 of 177 countries on the 2004 United Nations Human Development Index.

The economy of Madagascar is dominated by agriculture, which employs four-fifths of the population. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, contribute 25 percent of GDP; industry, 12 percent; and services, 63 percent. Major exports, including coffee, vanilla, cloves, shellfish, and sugar, were estimated at $700 million in 2002. Madagascar ’s natural resources are severely threatened by deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, which negatively impact the economy and people. A great need continues for teachers, health specialists, and environmental counselors, particularly in rural areas.

Peace Corps Program

The first education Volunteers arrived in late 1993. In subsequent years, the Peace Corps initiated programs in ecological conservation and community health education.

Today, Volunteers work in the education, environment, and health and HIV/AIDS sectors. Some Volunteers concentrate on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; others teach English and train teachers. Volunteers also work with communities and national parks to find ways to balance human needs with environmental conservation. All Volunteers, regardless of sector, are trained in how to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.

Peace Corps Volunteers

Education

Volunteers are posted in rural communities and work with students, teachers, and the larger community to raise the standard of teaching, to develop teaching resources, and to strengthen the links between schools and communities. Middle and high school students are taught English through both traditional classroom lessons and nontraditional methods such as songs, drawing, poetry, and drama. Volunteers transfer teaching skills to Malagasy English teachers to increase their capacity to plan lessons and create classroom resources. Volunteers and their counterparts use English as a vehicle to promote community programs such as girls ’ camps, HIV/AIDS prevention, and tree plantings.

Environment
Working with the government, NGOs, and local communities, Volunteers provide training for managers of protected areas, community members, and groups to improve their skills in environmental conservation, natural resource management, and sustainable agroforestry and agriculture. More than 300 communities have learned about environmental conservation through theater projects, videos, and workshops. Volunteers have helped establish 45 tree nurseries, plant more than 2,500 trees, and build over 300 wood-saving mud stoves in 65 villages.

Health and HIV/AIDS
The community health project helps communities address health issues through behavioral change methodologies and by effectively disseminating health messages. Volunteers concentrate on prevention of the main life-threatening childhood illnesses; help mothers understand basic maternal health issues, such as how to ensure safe pregnancies; and provide the general population with information about preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Through their outreach programs, Volunteers disseminate vital health information to more than 400 communities each year. Volunteers from all sectors collaborate on projects that teach HIV/AIDS awareness. One Volunteer realized that illiterate dock workers and local rickshaw operators were unable to understand the health messages in traditional AIDS awareness campaigns, though this population was clearly at risk. The Volunteer mobilized local resources and organized a person-to-person peer education campaign that has enabled these people to finally understand the risks and solutions.

Peace Corps Info

lilturns — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:18:36 CDT

DISCLAIMER: This website is not an official Peace Corps website or official United States government website. All of the information herein regarding experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer reflects personal opinion and interpretation, not official Peace Corps policy (unless otherwise cited as originating from Peace Corps documentation).

For the official Peace Corps website click here.

What Peace Corps was created to do

The Peace Corps is an organization within the American State Department, created through an executive order made by President Kennedy in 1961, with the overall mission to promote world peace and friendship. It does this through the pursuit of three goals:

1) Helping people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and
women;
2) Helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples
served;
3) Helping to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all
Americans.

Those of us so motivated apply for service with the Peace Corps, volunteering to live in another country for two years, with the purpose of sharing our skills with our host communities in a manner that increases their quality of life in a sustainable manner, and ideally leaves them empowered to continue to address local issues.

The Peace Corps is a service organization of a humanitarian nature. In the words of R. Sargent Shriver, its first director, the Peace Corps is a means for Americans to “participate directly, personally, and effectively in this struggle for human dignity.” It is a way to live in respect and solidarity with the world’s poor and powerless, across ethnic, racial, cultural, and national lines.

Peace Corps in Madagascar

Peace Corps Volunteers here currently number around 135, arriving bright-eyed and eager from the US approximately every four months to work as a volunteer in one of the three sectors that Peace Corps has here: community health, environment, and English teaching in schools. Here as in worldwide, PCVs commit to two years of service in a village or small town, each one living among her or his community, endeavoring to understand its rhythms and issues from the inside and then helping to empower the community to collectively take large and small sustainable steps to address its difficulties. As a life choice and a job, it’s a huge challenge – but with all of the enlightenment and inspiration mixed in with the tough stuff, some of us are crazy enough to take on a third year…!

How I see the PC…

In my experience, the Peace Corps is an invaluable means of deepening one’s understanding of our enormous and diverse human community and our worldwide relationship with its natural surroundings and resources, as well as gaining insight into oneself and one’s small place in the world – and the ways in which we are constantly learning from our world, and can each try to influence it for the better. For me, Peace Corps has also been crucial in deciding how I want to spend my future career-wise, providing the opportunity to explore different small-scale sustainable development approaches and interact with a whole range of development organizations. And of course there’s the exposure to a new culture and a new language, long-term immersion in the both of them, and the possibility to develop both a cultural and linguistic fluency that is found in very few abroad experiences.

A word on working for the US government, politics, etc.

Although the Peace Corps is a part of the US State Department and therefore the executive branch of government, being a Peace Corps volunteer does not equal corroboration with the current US administration. I personally struggled with the implications of going on the government payroll, worried about being associated with the international policies of the administration or risk being identified as a supporter of these. Yet I came to decide that as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I would have the chance to represent a different face of America to the international community, to provide a contrast to what the world generally sees via the airwaves: a belligerent, haughty, dominating government, supported by a greedy and xenophobic society.

In my village, I am a well-integrated member of the community; I even have my own community-given name, Soariziky, which means “good fortune” in our dialect. However, I am still identified as an American, and among my roles as a Volunteer I am, as they say, an “ambassador with a small ‘a’” – but without any political affiliations, and in fact being prohibited from involving politics of any sort in my work and life as a Volunteer. I work within the Peace Corps framework of small-scale development to promote a more nuanced understanding of Americans, possibly the only American with which my community will ever come in touch, showing an interest in and respect for their culture, and a dedication to helping them to find organic solutions to whatever problems they identify in the community – while sharing with them my own culture and character.

And what better way than to work within this great organization, which has managed to preserve a large measure of independence from the imperfect (but inevitable) government which supports it, doing my small part to keep Peace Corps thriving while engaging in the sort of justice-promoting, solidarity-building, community-empowering activity that I find so crucial to cultivating a peaceful and harmonious existence? What the Peace Corps does is unique to the US government, and being a part of it is a very unique experience of promoting bottom-up development with top-down support – but without promoting a particular US interest, or serving any other interest than the greater good of humanity. And if I want Peace Corps to stay there, to continue to put US budget money (albeit a tiny portion) to positive and sustainable ends, then – I decided – it’s best to be involved in the organization myself.

If you are tempted to check out Peace Corps a bit further or to explore the possibility of applying yourself, the please check out www.peacecorps.gov, or send me an email.

Projects in Village

lilturns — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:10:23 CDT

I think of myself as a "community educator for rural development", whether working from the Health sector (as I did for my first two years of service) or the Environment sector (as I currently am, and will be through January 2008). It allows for the fact that many of the projects that I have developed in my village can't necessarily be strictly categorized in one or the other topic area -- and seems to fit our Peace Corps Volunteer description as well, which doesn't limit us to only one or another "category" of project.

Follow the links or the navigation bar to the left to check out a little bit about any of the following projects:

Community Radio Station

Community Protected Area

Fuel-Saving Mudstoves

Renovating the Primary School

Malaria Prevention
Mosquito Net Sales
Malaria Treatment for Children

Income-Generation
Coconut Shell Crafts
Weavings
(micro-business projects done with local women's and artisans' cooperatives)

Water and Sanitation
Promoting Cleaner Drinking Water
Primary School Well Repair
Clinic Well Repair
Radio Station Latrine Construction
Secondary School Latrine Construction

Furnishing a Clinic in an Isolated Area of the Region

Solar-Powered Vaccine Fridge and Light at Village Clinic

School Text-Book Library and Study Area

Renovating the Primary School

lilturns — Sun, 06 May 2007 14:08:00 CDT

Please click here to help support this project!

Secure Donations Through the Peace Corps Partnership

The Peace Corps Partnership offers a way for volunteers worldwide to collect online contributions to support village projects that require outside funding. When donors come within $200 of funding a posted project, Peace Corps contributes the remaining $200 and makes the funding available to the volunteer sponsoring the project and her or his community counterparts. Volunteers and counterparts submit regular progress reports and final project reports and evaluations to the in-country PCP coordinator.

In my village, we submitted a PCP proposal to renovate and equip our local primary school, destroyed a few years ago by Cyclone Gafilo and never adequately repaired, so as to make it into a worthy learning institution.

We are hoping to collect about $7,000 in private donations in order to fix the school for its 250-plus student population. The school currently has two new classrooms; the rest are wholly dilapidated, in some places unsafe, overcrowded, and inevitably dirty as a result of being exposed to the elements. Educational resources are also limited -- there are only about 50 books for the entire student body, most of them worn and outdated, many only for teacher use. Storage space is limited for books and other teaching resources; the schoolyard is in need of tables, benches, and other appropriate infrastructure for an education-oriented extracurricular setting.

With only $7,000 all of these issues can be solved. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has no pla ns to fix our school or to provide it with the material resources with which it should be provided.

Local residents do not have enough disposable income to cover the entire cost of the project; however, the community will be working together to provide over a $2,000 value in materials gathering, transport, and labor.

Please help us to provide a better educational experience to our children! Click the link at the top of the page to read more about the project and to make your donation online.

Click here to see how
North Kingstown High School supports this project

Primary School Well Project

lilturns — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:29:39 CDT

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you can often be a catalyst for the community to create healthy solutions where the government infrastructure has not provided all that it should.

In the Peace Corps Madagascar Health sector, improving water and sanitation figures among the chief goals of a volunteer, in partnership with her or his community.

At the local primary school -- which is in itself in a state of disrepair, with only 2 fully functioning classrooms for over 200 students -- there had been no well for a long time, before I arrived. Working with the school principal and class teachers, we figured out a way to get the well hole cleaned out, re-dug, and to construct a sturdy and safe well structure above ground, with a portion of the materials and financing coming from the parents' association and a matching portion coming from private donations (from friends and family in the United States).

We purchased bricks, cement, steel reinforcement rods, and an old cooking oil drum (to be flattened and fashioned into a well cover. Sand, gravel, materials transport, and hole digging were among the parents' association's in-kind contributions to the project's completion. Labor fees were also funded through private donations. The entire project cost under $100 dollars.

Creating access to water at the school is a natural step in cultivating a healthier education experience. Kids can now draw well water from just beside their classrooms rather than carrying bucketfuls from across the road at the clinic well. Still no tap water in our neck of the woods, but now the primary school enjoys the same level of water access as the rest of the community.

It's strange how public spaces, educational institutions, with the most potential to get a large group of interested community stakeholders involved in its care and improvement, are often the most neglected...

But sometimes all it takes is a little infusion of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy and collaboration, and it's amazing what the community can accomplish.

In the News

lilturns — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:28:22 CDT

Radio Meva Ankarana is hailed by the US Department of State as "one of the most successful programs" in promoting freedom of information in Madagascar in 2006!

Please see page 41-42 of Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The US Record 2006 for photograph and short blurb on our project!
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80699.pdf

The creation of RMA was made possible by a $15,000 project award from the Democracy and Human Rights Fund of the US Embassy in Madagascar.

For more information on the project, please see Community Radio Station on this site.

* * * * * *

Peace Corps volunteer for Antsaravibe is interviewed by hometown paper!

The North Kingstown Standard Times, "NK graduate honored for volunteer work in Africa"
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18290047&BRD=1715&PAG=461&dept_id=73974&rfi=6

* * * * * *

Radio Meva Ankarana joins the FarmRadio Network!

Check out DJ Rodric on pg.2 of the March 2007 (no.80) FarmRadio newsletter, Voices.
http://www.farmradio.org/english/publications/voices/Voices_80.pdf

Tsingy Relais "Chez Tonton" : Ecotourist Getaway

lilturns — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:55:00 CDT

Rustic relaxation, charm and service, delicious cuisine and comfort, nestled in the heart of the famous Ankarana region of northern Madagascar!

"Chez Tonton" Robert is the perfect destination from which to explore the Ankarana Park and Reserve and surrounding natural environment. Tsingy Relais offers 17 traditional Malagasy bungalows with a total capacity of 40 persons, with 3 flusing toilets and one Turkish toilet (shared facilities) and showers. Delicious home-cooked meals are included, served in Robert's covered patio beside the botanical garden. Guest rooms are lit with gas lamps; bathrooms use solar lighting as do Robert's kitchen and private residence. All meals are prepared on Robert's hand-built energy-saving cookstove and solar cooker -- among the many ways in which his establishment contributes to the protection of the local environment.

Click here for a Bradt Guide description of Robert's place!
(scroll down to "page 371 Ankarana")

Know French?
click to read about Chez Tonton in the news:
Newzy.fr
http://www.normada.com/ankarana.htm

PCV Hometown Support

lilturns — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:40:29 CDT

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Reuters Film for Africa Journal: All About RMA

lilturns — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:40:19 CDT

Latest and Greatest News:
Film to air on Reuters' Africa Journal, Wednesday May 2nd 2007!

Some opportunities are too wonderful to pass up, no matter how unexpected!

Just this past month, the Reuters photo-journalist for Madagascar offered us the chance to be the subject of a film, all about the creation of our community radio project.

We accepted, and within days she had arrived -- then spending almost five full days more with us in village, with her eye, her lens, her heart, and her mind all focused on capturing the impact of the Radio that has been felt in the community thus far, as well as our past trials and obstacles, and of course the community's hopes, dreams, and fears for the future of its beautiful new Radio Meva Ankarana.
Two films, rather, will be made: one for the use of Africa Journal, and one for the use of the Radio itself, an important tool for RMA to utilize both in "reporting" to those who have given their support to the Radio project in the past as well as to motivate others to give their support in the future (or renew past support).

The Radio still has a long way to go before it becomes a fully stable, functional statio -- right now, for example, we are working hard to get together the 500,000 Ariary (about $250) required by the national copyright-protection authority (OMDA), before the month of may. This must come from profits that the radio brings in through both its broadcast-related and community-center activities -- which also should produce enough to provide a small compensation for all of the work ours that our eager team of DJ preserters has put in...
Meanwhile, we're already experiencing technical difficulties with the charge controllers of the solar array, forced to "fix up" what barely ever began to go! And so, we are running on less than the ideal quantity of hours-of-broadcast per day, but the team is truly redoubling its efforts to make the brief daily programming as wonderful as possible, so as to get as much listener support as possible in financing the OMDA -- and hence keeping the doors of RMA legally open!

With the movie, as well, we will be all the more equipped to secure external partnerships to support the radio.

Film clips and many many more photos coming soon!!

Thanks a million to Jasleen Kaur Sethi, Reuters correspondent for Madagascar and extraordinary photographer / cinematographer!

You have given us the chance to share RMA and our village to the world in a way we never even imagined.

to see more of Jaz's beautiful photography, please

click here.

Malaria Treatment for Children

lilturns — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:11:01 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.