The Volobe School Opening by Lomba

Posted on 04 June 2010

Lomba (Mahalomba Hasoavana) started working for Azafady in July 2001 as a guide on the Pioneer volunteer programme. In 2006 he was made Team Leader of the Pioneer guide team, a job which he did until the summer of 2009. Lomba then coordinated the Ausaid urban health & sanitation project, and now he is the head of the new construction department. Here are his thoughts on the opening of Azafady’s recently built school in Volobe…

On May 13th I travelled with two Azafady colleagues to the beautiful but remote Volobe. We were going to attend the official opening of the school we completed there last year. As Head of Construction I felt it was important for me to go to show my support for the school particularly as its remote location meant many people would be unable to attend the celebration.

The journey to Volobe took some time and effort. First there was the 4×4 as far as Mahatalaky, then it was motorbike to Ambatolahy, this is where the road ends so we then had a four hour walk to reach our final destination. The walk involved crossing ten rivers, including a waterfall meaning it was hardly worth wearing shoes and socks as there are no bridges.

The next day was the official opening and celebration. Watching the children arrive, all dressed in their new uniforms, I felt a little overwhelmed by how many there were. When we were building last year no one was attending the falling down school we were working to replace, so I didn’t know how students would want to attend the new school. We were told there was 360 children in the new intake. It was great to think that because of the school we built that many more children were able to receive their basic education, but I was also a little worried as I knew the school would soon be full and another one would be needed.

As I listened to the speeches I was impressed with everyone’s enthusiasm for education. The Head of the Parents Association spoke particularly passionately about the importance of education and the difference it could make. It was especially great to hear such positive speeches as the building of the school was one of the most difficult we had done.

The build was difficult as all the materials needed for the school, teacher’s house and latrines needed to be moved to the site by hand. These materials included 150 bags of cement, 400 planks of wood, 200 posts and 100 roof panels. The remote location also meant that staff and volunteers couldn’t return to town to see friends and family on days off. The two Pioneer groups involved worked so hard, and I hope they read this post and see the pictures to see the impact the school has had.

After the opening ceremony it was time for the celebrations, hundreds of people attended from the surrounding fokontanies (villages). During this time I was able to talk to some of the families about their hopes for the future; their thoughts are very much about improving the road access.

The next day it was time to move on, as we were due to visit the latest Pioneer built school in Mahatalaky. As we travelled back I thought about the changes our school building programme will have- by providing a good school building, complete with facilities, we enable teachers to teach so many more children and with the education the children receive they are better able to make positive changes in their own lives. I’m certainly very proud of the work we do and I hope all volunteers that have been involved are too.