gardens and grandpas

Yet another bumpy taxi-brousse ride and we are back in the capital, Antananarivo. Our ride in was particularly great this time as we were squished in the middle of a bus that was stuffed to the brim (literally) with people that were eager to sing along to pretty much every song that came on the radio. We made an effort to blend in, but unfortunately blending in doesn’t happen too often around here, especially considering Luke’s new purchase of a hot-pick fleece hoody that reads, “Speedy Mouse” (one of the many gems found in our local market). All in all it was a great trip in.

In addition to improving our singing voices and acquiring the odd treasure from the market, things are bustling out in Tsarahonenana and we are frantically watching as the end to our three-month trip approaches. During the last few weeks, we have been able to sneak away from project planning work for a bit to get outside and get our hands dirty. As part of our nutrition program, Mahatsara has purchased a chunk of land that we are converting into community garden plots that will ideally help contribute to food security in Tsarahonenana, and provide supplementary fruits and veggies for our school lunch program. We bought the land from an older man in the village who we now affectionately call, “Dadabe” (Grandpa). Dadabe, like many Malagasy, is one of the happiest people you could ever meet with an enormous smile to boot (check out the picture of Dadabe posted above). Since selling us the land Dadabe has become a regular around Mahatsara and has taken to joining in on our pre-school classes and popping in for lunch.

Work on the Mahatsara community garden is really coming together. With an incredible zest for hard-work, the parent’s association has already prepared a good portion of the land for farming and has even made it out to a local agricultural NGO to participate in a training session on sustainable gardening techniques. Their hard-work and dedication to making things happen continues to amaze us.

We have just a few more days in the capital before heading back out to the country for our last month. During this trip to Antananarivo (Tana) we have had a chance to spend more time at Tangaina Orphanage and Fihariantsoa Pre-School (both supported by AOM). Both centres are amazing places that are truly making a difference for so many children that would otherwise be living on the streets.

Unfortunately, every trip to Tana is a reminder of the challenges that so many kids living on the streets face. Luke and I spent an afternoon this week wandering the downtown area looking for two girls that lived at Akany Avoko Children’s Home when Andy and I were there in 2006. Their mother decided to take them back in 2007 and since then they have been living on the streets. We eventually found Ginah (3 years old) and Sarah (5 years old) in the corner of an old staircase near the centre of town. Though she still has an incredible smile, Ginah was not in great shape. Her hair was tinged red, sign of a serious protein deficiency, and the rags she wore as clothes hung off her 20 pound body. Sarah was in even worse shape and we were told that she was in hospital for persistent diarrhea. At the risk of causing problems we had nothing more to give than some hugs but we will return to check on them periodically.

Thanks again to everyone at home for all your support, we can’t tell you how much it all means to us. The next time we write we should be just about to board a plane back to Canada (May 27^th) so stoke up those barbeques and we look forward to seeing all of you.