Last Friday I wrote a rather depressing post about Madagascar, so today I thought I’d share a little glimpse of hope with my readers. About 5 years ago I was invited a private reception after a talk at the University of Colorado, given by Alison Jolly, a British biological anthropologist who studies lemurs in Madagascar. In college I’d spent a semester abroad in Madagascar, during which I spent a month at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve. Dr. Jolly had conducted research at the park in previous years, and given the Malagasy system for naming children, the park’s villagers presumed (and I could not dissuade them) that I was her daughter. I’d never met Dr. Jolly, so I took advantage of the opportunity to hear my namesake speak and attend the reception. Frankly, I don’t recall if I actually met Dr. Jolly, but I did meet Fanja and George, a Malagasy couple that had recently re-located to Boulder.

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to get to know Fanja and George and participate in the creation Hope for Madagascar, a non profit devoted to improving living conditions, promoting sustainable development, and fostering educational opportunities in Madagascar. One of the most common challenges encountered in working to promote positive change is that most people have a difficult time imagining a life any different from the one the live currently. This is especially true in developing countries, where the majority of the day is spent working to survive. It is all and good to TELL villagers in the rain forest not to cut down their precious trees for firewood, but if you don’t give them any other options, they have no choice, but to cut down the trees.

Fanja and George are from Madagascar and have seen first hand failed and successful efforts at conservation. In the US Fanja works as a preschool teacher and in Madagascar, George spent time working at the Ranomafana National Park. Together they came up with the idea for the Life Exchange Education Program, which we fondly call “LEEP.” The goal of LEEP is to show children living in the rain forest what life is like in a deforested and now desert region just a few hours drive from their home. The hope is that the children will see and understand the consequences of cutting down the rain forest and thus be motivated and open to learning ways to promote sustainable development in their own communities.

(Tonga Soa means “Welcome” in Malagasy)

In conjunction with the LEEP program Hope for Madagscar is working with the villagers in Kelilalina & Ambalona to improve their schools and promote sustainable development. We are also working to build a well in the desert village of Ambalona, so that the people there can have water for drinking, cooking and irrigation, with out having to walk kilometers to the nearest (sometimes dry) river.

Fanja & George also helped a group of women to start the Natuary Cooperative, which is an organization devoted to sustainable development through helping women in the Ranomafana region make an income from renewable resources, such as woven raffia. In the US, the goods are sold through Tropical Items Madagascar, which has been recently certified Fair Trade. If you’d like to know more about either organization or make a donation to Hope for Madagascar please visit their respective websites.