We have been working in Madagascar, in Tulear in the south of the island since 1991, in Diego in the north since 1996 and since 2001 in Antananarivo. During these years, the first two programmes have particularly focused on the school and on reinitiating the functioning of the education system.
At first, the programme ‘Mada Sud’ began with the purpose of re-equipping the education system. Subsequently, it became very important for the association to focus on teacher training and to discuss with the communities the cost of running their school. In 1996, the programme prioritised the development of a project based on a cooperative approach, with the aim of adapting its resources to needs as required.
Since 1997, the emphasis has been placed on the quality of teaching, the integration of the school into the local environment, the reinforcement of the communities’ participation and on sustainability. After an external evaluation of the programme in 1999, a revision of our work is underway. This restructuring will be centred on the redeployment of the resources of the programme. Thanks to 4 200 sponsors, 34 600 children of this region have better schooling conditions. With in 1998, the opening of the 100th school in the region of Toliara, the aim of the programme Aide et Action ‘Mada Sud’ today is to enable access to a basic, good quality education, for every child in south west Madagascar, allowing them to take their future into their own hands. The following three aims have been upheld by the team of ‘Mada Sud’ in 2002: improvement of school output; reinforcement of the domain and capacities of the FRAMs and local associations; revaluation of the role of the teacher. The programme in the north has considerably developed within these 99 schools, 15000 children of which 2300 are sponsored.
The team is working more with the aim of involving the different members of the school community, in particular the parents' associations. By adopting a policy which will allow the school authorities to become responsible for the school at different levels, the team hopes to develop a real partnership. The start of a third programme in the capital reflects our desire to become more involved in urban and peripheral urban areas. Opened in April 2001, during the two years of its existence, the programme has especially tried to work with local organisations and partners operating in the districts as well as local school authorities. It was near the end of 2001 that the first steps were put in place with various workshops in the districts, to create a collective educational plan.
