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News Archive 2005
 Click here for 2005 newsletter (PDF, 300KB)
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries
in the world. Find out more
Ny
Tanintsika, the Feedback team in Madagascar, has made phenomenal progress.
Ny
Tanintsika continues
building its capacity to raise funds, develop and manage projects,
while the Feedback Trust in the UK has continued to give
international technical and funding support. The result is a range
of sustainable projects all driven from Madagascar which are improving
lives and the environment in this unique and beautiful land.
Please take a few minutes to read about
our latest achievements and plans:
New Online Giving
Ever eager to make giving easy,
we have set up an online donations page – and if you are a UK taxpayer
all your donations will have the tax reclaimedthrough Gift Aid making
it even bigger. Just click
here to give, and many thanks in advance!
Global Customer: World Bank Vice President James Wolfensohn
asks Eugenie where he can get more Malagasy silk ties!
Silk Project a Worldwide Development Winner!
Ny Tanintsika
took part in a global competition for the Development Marketplace
run by the World Bank, and we were selected as one of 78
finalists out of more than 2600 entrants worldwide. And then
we won!!! Coordinator Eugénie Raharisoa, who went
to Washington DC for the final at the end of May, was overwhelmed by the
news, which means that we are one of 31 winners, and a grant
for over USD110,000 will be made available to develop the
project. "The
Development Marketplace gives us a chance to meet a lot of
people who are on the front lines of bringing ideas and understanding
that would never be thought of in Washington, D.C., London,
or Paris. We are tremendously grateful to the finalists," said James
Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. "This grant will mean a huge
amount to all of our silk workers and their families, helping
14,000 villagers and 150 silk weavers," said
Eugenie. "And for me it was truly the trip of a lifetime." Read
more >>
This woman has lost six of her nine children,
but now the future holds more hope
Birth Assistants
Save Lives
Fianarantsoa in South West Madagascar has the highest
mortality rate in the country for children under five [204 / 1000; DHS,
Health & Demographic
Study,1997]. Healthcare for mothers is managed by Traditional Birth Attendants
[TBAs], who attend 60% of all births, and with government resources dwindling
while the population increases they will continue to provide a lifeline
for mothers and babies for the foreseeable future. Many are very experienced,
but at the same time they often do not recognise the circumstances under
which pregnant woman should be sent to hospital, and some of their traditional
practices can be very dangerous. This Feedback programme, the first of
its kind in Madagascar, began in 1999 and has now extended to provided
training, support and supplies for over 600 TBAs from 22 different
communes covering an area of over 11,000 square kilometres. A total
of over 12,000 women have been referred to local health centres via
the programme, for everything from childbirth, prenatal and postnatal
consultation, to vaccination and family planning services.
New and improved schools and hospitals
Feedback
- Ny Tanintsika's collaboration with the British Embassy in Madagascar continues
to flourish with the granting of more funds to repair/ build and equip schools
and health centres in remote rural areas. A total of 14 primary schools and 5
health centres have benefited, and another 3 villages are in the process of being
supplied with gravitational water supplies. One isolated commune has had a radio
system installed to improve communication, whilst another has begun a commune
community rice store project to improve food security and lower malnutrition
rates.
Sam
Cameron , awarded an MBE , at the office with Lala
and Nathalie.
Britain Gives...
In a remarkable
reward for her exceptional dedication to Feedback/Ny Tanintsika's work
in Madagascar, our very own Samantha Cameron was awarded
an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June, for "services to healthcare and community development in Madagascar." "I'm
in shock. I'm sure there are a lot of other more deserving people," said
Sam. "But of course I'm delighted too. Despite the colonial references - hopefully
they'll change the name soon – it is a really great honour. Most importantly
it should really be seen as a team award. We are doing a fantastic job. It
is a reflection of everyone's relentless commitment and effort, the shared
passion to improve people's lives and ensure a better future for Madagascar."
...and Takes Away
However, ironically,
at the same time as the UK government made this individual
award, the FCO closed its Embassy in Antananarivo. Shoals
of letters of protest appear to have had no effect! Please
take a minute to write about the closure to your
MP or perhaps better to Jack
Straw with copies to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Hilary Benn and the Chairmen
of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the Africa All Party
Parliamentary Group. The Embassy provided a vital business and cultural link
to Madagascar and helped Feedback and Ny Tanintsika in more ways than we
can count; its closure has taken away much-needed support!
Outdoor
entertainmen t: learning about health and nutrition at the cinemobile
Audio-visual education
for all
Ever since the BESOM Foundation donated audio-visual equipment and a 4x4 to Feedback,
the Cinemobile project has been operating in remote villages around the Fianarantsoa
region. With support from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, a new programme is being
launched which combines previous project success with the proven effectiveness
of educational video showings at attracting huge crowds. Working with community-based
health providers already trained by the project, paramedical staff will be alternating
village-based trainings with animated participatory audio-visual sessions. The
project aims are to improve reproductive health, to reduce the incidence of common
diseases and to lower malnutrition rates.
The
Heart of the Matter...
Health and the environment are interdependent
in the developing world, and Ny Tanintsika has been pioneering new ways
to improve standards of living whilst preserving the biodiversity-rich
environment of Madagascar, particularly the threatened rainforest
corridor on the east of the island. Teacher-training courses,
support for school-based environmental actions, rural wind-up/solar-powered
radio programmes based around listening groups, community-based
farmer-to-farmer and pupil-to-family teaching techniques, "champion village" contests
and adult literacy programmes...these are just some of the new approaches
adopted by Ny Tanintsika. Key to all these projects is motivation and self-help.
Francoise
is one of the 30 community family planning providers and has a record number
of clients - over 75! It costs just £25 to train and equip
someone like her.
...and
Getting Results
The results have been significant; the reforestation
of 10 hectares with over 25,000 trees; the adoption of improved rice-farming
techniques covering 300km² - with an average ten-fold increase in
yields; assistance in building over 50 latrines; provision of clean water
supplies to 5 villages; a 19% increase in the adoption of family planning
methods; new or improved income-generating activities for over 500 households;
the opening of 6 nutritional-surveillance centres aimed at improving the
health of women and children. But most important of all is the ownership
of the project by the communities themselves; villages identifying their
own targets for the year and forming committees to drive activities and
report on actions. Monthly reports are sent by these committees to the
centralised commune committee, made up of local authorities and representatives
from local public services like education and health, and they ensure the
continued monitoring of programme results. This capacity-building at the
commune level is essential to ensuring the sustainability and continuation
of the good work.
Building
the silk industry will help hundreds of women and their families. Find out more
Silk Production, Forest Protection
Feedback's
passion for silk production continues, with a silk industry revitalisation
project in Manandriana. The project is reintroducing wild silkworms to their traditional
diet of tapia at the same time as growing and protecting the tapia forest and
training communities in woodland management and silkworm breeding. Ny
Tanintsika now works with 12 groups of village silk producers. 95% of the members
are women, and about 200 families will benefit from this new source of income.
Similar projects have struggled elsewhere but we have got the mix just right
and the project is a serious commercial proposition. Four of the groups made
99 million Malagasy francs (around £6,000) between January and September 2004,
proving the economic sustainability of this new cottage industry. Funding
was provided by generous donations from the JJ Charitable Trust, the British
Embassy in Madagascar, and the Association for Cultural Exchange / ACE
study tours.
Craft boutique – Bar – Restaurant
VOAJANAHARY
Opened
in July 2005, this centre is located in the heart of the artisanal town
of Ambositra. It is a combined effort of Ny Tanintsika with the association
Mondo Giusto and the Manandriana Weaver's Union "Tambatra". Ny Tanintsika's
office can be found on the 1st floor, the workshop on the groundfloor and
the boutique opposite.The boutique was set up to assist associations of
craftsmen in the Amoron'i Mania region, and the workshop offers visitors
a chance to watch craftsmen and women at work; spinning, dyeing and weaving
traditional cloths.
Open everyday from 8am to 8pm, the workshop offers
visits, demonstrations, apprenticeships as well as trainings for amateurs
and professionals. Behind is the restaurant, serving Malagasy and European
dishes, and a large courtyard.
Andrefantsena
route du Grand Hotel
Ambositra
Telephone : 47 711 92
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