In coastal communities in the southwest of Madagascar only one in three children go to school, and most do not make it beyond primary level.
For more than ten years, Blue Ventures has supported young people in the Velondriake locally managed marine area (LMMA) in their education through school scholarships.
Thanks to your generosity we’re currently supporting 272 students with their education.
Our school scholarships fund is entirely dependent on individual donors, and thanks to their generosity we are supporting 272 students this school year.
253 of these students are in the Velondriake LMMA: 10 in primary school, 159 in middle school, 71 in high school, and 13 at university.
We are also supporting 19 students in the adjacent Manjaboake LMMA, thanks to an extraordinary fundraising effort by sisters Annabelle and Flora Wallace.
Photo: Louise Jasper
Photo: Garth Cripps
Before the start of the school year, we organised a meeting for everyone involved in the scholarship programme: the scholars themselves, their parents, education officers from the village associations, the directors of the nine schools we work with, and our own education team.
Every scholar and their parents signed a contract in which the children commit themselves not only to be diligent in school and have good behavior, but also to participate in external educational activities. Their parents pledged to respect the dina [traditional community-based laws] of the Velondriake LMMA, and to attentively follow their child’s progress.
Each student received a school kit consisting of notebooks, pens, pencils, and geometric tools, and at the end of each month, rice is distributed to all the scholars who have kept to their contracts.
The short film above, shot and edited by Symphorien from our outreach team in Velondriake, tells the story of the back-to-school meeting that took place on 6 November 2018, and gives some of the scholars the opportunity to say thank you to the donors who’ve enabled them to continue their education.
An education provides these young people with future livelihood alternatives beyond fishing, and the majority of students wish to use the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired through years of study to give back to the communities that have done so much for them.
With a donation of £5 per month or £50 per year, you can support a high school student for an entire year, allowing them to realise their full potential and advance marine conservation within their communities.
Thank you.
Sponsor an education
Special thanks to Lovasoa Cédrique for translating the film subtitles.
