Why we do it

of children drop out of primary school.²

of teachers do not have a professional teaching qualification.²

of people live below the international poverty line of USD 2.15/capita/day.¹

of women aged between 20 and 24 state that they got married before the age of 18.²

In 2018, 1.05 % of Madagascans aged 25 and older from rural areas completed a bachelor's degree. Approximately nine times less than people from urban regions, where the average is 9.53 %.³ These data confirm the social inequality between urban and rural areas.

Madagascar is the fifth largest island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of southern Africa. Despite considerable natural resources, the country has one of the highest poverty rates internationally, with a population of around 28 million (as of 2020).¹

Development prospects in Madagascar continue to be hampered by the country's low growth potential and its frequent, deep and persistent crises.¹

The situation in the village community of Fihaonana confirms the national development deficits. Fihaonana is located about 60 km northwest of the capital Antananarivo and is a 232.8 km² village community inhabited by 23'700 people (as of 2019), consisting of 18 subcommunities. People in Fihaonana mainly work as self-sufficient farmers, stonecutters or simple traders. With this hard work, the daily income is generally between MGA 3'000 and MGA 5'000 (approx. CHF 0.65 to CHF 1.10).⁴

Eight different groups of people have both positive and negative potential to influence the success of the project: young people (direct target group), parents or custodians (indirect target group), donors, employees, universities, tutors, inhabitants of Fihaonana and high schools in Fihaonana.

Apart from ours, eleven projects are currently being implemented in Fihaonana. About half of them are agricultural. However, there are no relevant projects regarding long-term schooling. The only education project is a school attended by about a dozen students. To our knowledge, there is only one NGO in the country, Promes Madagascar, with a similar approach.⁴

Lack of awareness of the value of education -> Choice of the least resistance

Low level of education -> Unqualified occupation

Lack of career choice information -> Wrong career decisions

High study costs -> Social inequality

Unknown extent of the problem -> Catastrophically poor educational support for disadvantaged people

Urban-rural differences in mentality -> Social division