{"id":9098,"date":"2017-10-25T13:09:55","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T12:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/?p=9098"},"modified":"2022-11-23T16:30:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T16:30:48","slug":"visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Andavadoaka: a community health learning exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blueventures.org\/team\/toalidy-didy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support Technician<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Blue Ventures\u2019 community health programme, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blueventures.org\/conservation\/community-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safidy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (meaning \u201cchoice\u201d in Malagasy), and I am based in Maintirano on the west coast of Madagascar. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I work closely with coastal communities, supervising the community health workers (CHWs) that live in those communities and provide basic health services. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also work with the migrant fishing communities that live for up to nine months at a time on the remote Barren Isles, located off the coast of Maintirano.<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":1,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\\\/\"}' class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular\" data-original-width=\"900\"><div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 895px; height: 296px;\"><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 448px; height: 300px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/%e2%94%ac_garth_cripps_blue_ventures_2011-11-25_0025\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9101\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/\u252c\u00ae_Garth_Cripps_Blue_Ventures_2011-11-25_0025.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1080,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1322238719&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;16&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A remote community in the Barren Isles | Photo: Garth Cripps\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/\u252c\u00ae_Garth_Cripps_Blue_Ventures_2011-11-25_0025-536x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/\u252c\u00ae_Garth_Cripps_Blue_Ventures_2011-11-25_0025-725x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/\u252c\u00ae_Garth_Cripps_Blue_Ventures_2011-11-25_0025-444x296.jpg\" width=\"444\" height=\"296\" align=\"left\" title=\"A remote community in the Barren Isles | Photo: Garth Cripps\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 444px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 444\/296;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">A remote community in the Barren Isles | Photo: Garth Cripps<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 447px; height: 300px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/_mg_2610\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9100\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/MG_2610.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1080,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Garth Cripps&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 20D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1242564738&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;70&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Migrant fishers live in the Barren Isles for up to nine months | Photo: Garth Cripps\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/MG_2610-536x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/MG_2610-725x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/MG_2610-443x296.jpg\" width=\"443\" height=\"296\" align=\"left\" title=\"Migrant fishers live in the Barren Isles for up to nine months | Photo: Garth Cripps\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 443px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 443\/296;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">Migrant fishers live in the Barren Isles for up to nine months | Photo: Garth Cripps<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To improve my work, and expand the opportunities for the community health programme in Maintirano, I participated in an exchange visit to another Blue Ventures site, the village of Andavadoaka in southwest Madagascar. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After five days of travel in a taxi brousse from Maintirano, I finally arrived in Andavadoaka and was welcomed by the team there.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9104\" style=\"width: 372px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9104\" class=\"wp-image-9104 size-large lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-362x483.jpg\" alt=\"Toalidy with the Safidy team in Andavadoaka | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" width=\"362\" height=\"483\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-362x483.jpg 362w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-49x65.jpg 49w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-268x357.jpg 268w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-1300x1733.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-300x400.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 362px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 362\/483;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toalidy with the Safidy team in Andavadoaka | Photo: Njaka Raveloson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was amazing to see the strong cohesion between the Malagasy and International staff. Not only do they work well as a team but they also spend time together socially, something I saw when I attended a birthday party where everyone was singing and playing guitar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As well as getting to know the Andavadoaka team, I was here to learn about Safidy\u2019s work, and that\u2019s how I spent most of my time. I attended the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">regroupment<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is a monthly meeting for local Community Health Workers (CHWs) and I was surprised to see that there were over 30 CHWs at the meeting! This was a big change from the 8 CHWs that I support in Maintirano!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">regroupement<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I saw that our work across sites is very similar. Blue Ventures facilitates the gathering of CHWs, and a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chef CSB<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (a government health worker who manages a public health centre) reviews all the monthly forms before leading a training with support from the Safidy team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the training progressed, I witnessed the CHWs listening intently and actively participating in the discussions. I had a chance to speak with one of them, and she told me that before becoming a CHW she didn\u2019t know how to read and write or how to sew, but she has now learned both and it has transformed her life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The engagement and effort I saw from the CHWs reflected the hard work and dedication that I also saw from the Safidy team in Andavadoaka.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9103\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9103\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9103 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2.jpg\" alt=\"Toalidy and the Safidy team with Community Health Workers after the regroupement | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" width=\"1600\" height=\"861\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2-100x54.jpg 100w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2-664x357.jpg 664w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2-745x401.jpg 745w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2-1300x699.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/Toalidy-2-300x161.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/861;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9103\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toalidy and the Safidy team with Community Health Workers after the regroupement | Photo: Njaka Raveloson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">regroupement<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I participated in the Village Outreach Tour (VOT), which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/village-outreach-tour-catalysing-conversations-isolated-communities\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provides integrated messaging to cover pertinent health and environment topics with isolated communities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Within the VOT there were focus group discussions, community meetings, and theatre sketches that all engaged the community in conversations about natural resource management and positive behaviours to improve human health. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the VOT, I saw that youth and students were participating in most of the outreach activities. In many of the communities and migrant fishing camps around Maintirano there aren\u2019t any schools, so these activities might need to be adjusted slightly for that context, but I still think that we should develop more youth-focused sexual and reproductive health education and outreach in these areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":1,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\\\/\"}' class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular\" data-original-width=\"900\"><div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 895px; height: 345px;\"><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 521px; height: 349px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/p1240602\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9105\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/P1240602.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1080,721\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-LX5&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1479748099&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.1&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Children getting involved in a VOT | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/P1240602-535x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/P1240602-723x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/P1240602-517x345.jpg\" width=\"517\" height=\"345\" align=\"left\" title=\"Children getting involved in a VOT | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 517px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 517\/345;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">Children getting involved in the Village Outreach Tour | Photo: Njaka Raveloson<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 374px; height: 349px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/village-outreach-tour-catalysing-conversations-isolated-communities\/p1240161\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"8322\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2016\/12\/P1240161.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1490\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A theatre sketch with an integrated message | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2016\/12\/P1240161-383x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2016\/12\/P1240161-519x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2016\/12\/P1240161-370x345.jpg\" width=\"370\" height=\"345\" align=\"left\" title=\"A theatre sketch with an integrated message | Photo: Njaka Raveloson\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 370px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 370\/345;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">A theatre sketch with an integrated message | Photo: Njaka Raveloson<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another new activity that I learned during my visit was how to use the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/phemadagascar.org\/resources\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Population-Health-Environment (PHE) story cards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These cards depict situations that commonly occur in the villages where we work and give community members the opportunity to create stories based on the cards they see. Integrating community and ecosystem health in discussions is often quite challenging, so I\u2019m looking forward to bringing the PHE story cards to Maintirano!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to Safidy, I also learned more about Blue Ventures\u2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blueventures.org\/conservation\/aquaculture\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aquaculture programme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which we don\u2019t have in Maintirano. Traveling to the remote coastal village of Tampolove, I saw first-hand people farming seaweed and sea cucumbers. \u00a0It was great to see this programme successfully offering an alternative livelihood for families, helping them send their children to school and better manage their marine resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":1,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\\\/\"}' class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular\" data-original-width=\"900\"><div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 895px; height: 445px;\"><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 597px; height: 449px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/attachment\/3791316\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9107\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/3791316.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Toalidy trialling the PHE cards in the communities around Maintirano | Photo: Nick Reed-Krase\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/3791316-476x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/3791316-644x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/3791316-593x445.jpg\" width=\"593\" height=\"445\" align=\"left\" title=\"Toalidy trialling the PHE cards in the communities around Maintirano | Photo: Nick Reed-Krase\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 593px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 593\/445;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">Toalidy trialling the PHE story cards in the communities around Maintirano | Photo: Nick Reed-Krase<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 298px; height: 449px;\"><div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/visiting-andavadoaka-community-health-learning-exchange\/dsc_7320\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9106\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/DSC_7320.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"715,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D7000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1379539824&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;66&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Aquaculture in Tampolove | Photo: Antoine Rougier\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/DSC_7320-236x357.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/DSC_7320-320x483.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/10\/DSC_7320-294x445.jpg\" width=\"294\" height=\"445\" align=\"left\" title=\"Aquaculture in Tampolove | Photo: Antoine Rougier\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 294px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 294\/445;\" \/><\/a><div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\">Aquaculture in Tampolove | Photo: Antoine Rougier<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Altogether this exchange visit was a great opportunity for me to see the work of Safidy outside of Maintirano and to get new ideas on how we can improve our health work. I also learned more about conservation efforts like aquaculture and octopus reserves, and can now better explain Blue Ventures\u2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blueventures.org\/conservation\/approach\/phe\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">integrated approach<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I know that I will use the PHE cards and theatre sketches I witnessed as future activities in my own work. I am thankful to everyone who helped me to do this exchange visit, and I hope that I will have a chance to do another in the future to help me to keep improving our work in Maintirano.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Blue Ventures&#8217; Medical Director reflects on ten years of <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/ten-years-providing-communities-freedom-choose\/\">integrating community health services into our work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Join our award-winning expeditions for your <a href=\"https:\/\/blueventures.org\/volunteer\/specialist\/medical-electives\/\">medical elective<\/a>!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After making the five day journey from Maintirano, Toalidy spent a month with Blue Ventures\u2019 Safidy team in Andavadoaka learning new ways to support remote coastal communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":9103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,345,43],"tags":[531,575,640,483,638],"class_list":["post-9098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barren-isles-madagascar","category-community-health","category-velondriake-madagascar","tag-community-exchange","tag-phe","tag-safidy","tag-sharing-learning","tag-vot"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - 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