Our Projects: Current, Ongoing, Previous and Future…
For regular updates on our projects and activities, follow our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/gemsofmadagascar
We are currently raising money for:
A new high school in the Morarano School complex. This high school will be in the same school complex where GemsOfMadagascar.org built a four-classroom elementary school building, toilets, rainwater collection and cleaning tanks, a handwashing station and a computer lab and library. This rural school complex is now the most technologically advanced school in the district.
Currently, the closest high schools serving these students are 3km and 10km away. Getting to those schools requires students to walk along the busy highway. Consequently, these kids avoid the danger and long walk by dropping out. It is important the students at this elementary school be able to continue their high-quality education in the same fabulous school complex they currently attend.
This project is a 4-classroom high school building with 3 administrative offices. The maximum capacity is 240 students, 60 students per classroom. We hope to begin construction in 2024.
Growing Food Forests in both areas where we work. This project will be introduced during our October 22, 2023 Feeding Future Generations event at Shupe Homestead
Recent Projects 2020 to Present
Farming Complex for Ankevohevo: Covid was hard on everyone worldwide. With no tourists to Madagascar for over two years, the children in the choir weren’t able to give performances to make money. To make matters worse, their village was hit with a cyclone in February 2022, which wiped out, not only homes, but also their rice paddies and many of their banana trees. The people were literally starving.
Animals in Madagascar are generally starving and treated poorly. It’s common in Madagascar to see pigs and chickens tied to trees by their legs. I wanted to teach the kids how to properly care for animals so they produce healthy babies and healthy food. Pig Enclosure Our pig enclosure is large with plenty of space for the pigs to roam. It features 7 large covered shelters and lots of gates so it can be configured for specific needs. For example, if the boar With a focus on hygiene for the animals, we built cement slabs to put the pig food on…so they don’t have to eat off the ground or in a sloppy trough. They also drink fresh rainwater collected from the roofs of the shelters. The water is funneled directly into collection tanks and pigs drink it from water nipples, so the water stays clean and healthy. The pigs eat commercial feed, some local greens and some scraps from local restaurants.
The kids love the pigs and have learned a lot about caring for them properly. One commented on how nice their hair is…we explained that’s what happens when you use farming techniques that focus on health!
Chicken Coop Our chicken enclosure is also quite large complete with nesting boxes, roosts and large chicken runs. It features a two-sided chicken coop. One side is for raising eggs for human consumption. The other side is raising eggs for hatching! I’m excited to report that we already got our first batch of baby chicks with more on the way. The farm is also producing about a dozen eggs for human consumption each day. The people had never had eggs before and they love to put them in their rice for added nutrition. The rule is, whomever is responsible for caring for the chickens that day gets to keep the eggs to eat.
We started small with 12 hens to lay eggs for food, but our little farm is growing quickly with many baby chicks. Once again, the kids are learning important lessons on how to properly care for chickens. And they absolutely love getting the eggs to eat everyday. |
![]() ![]() One small building was not refurbished because it wasn’t structurally sound for use. The school director asked if we could re-build that building and make it into a much-needed library and computer lab. The project was finished in fall of 2022 and was a collaborative effort between GemsOfMadagascar.org and GroundBreaker, a partner NGO that funded the building, solar power and computers. The department of education provided an educational local area network for the school.
This school is now the most technologically advanced school in the district. While the Groundbreaker grant paid for the construction of the building and computers, we still need funds for library books. We have space for books in English, Malagasy and French, but our shelves are quite empty at the moment. |
The Ankevohevo Children’s Choir: The Ankevohevo children’s choir, sponsored by GemsOfMadagascar.org, was off to a good start in 2020 with a new choir director, regularly scheduled performances, and a good income from tips.
Unfortunately, since the borders closed in March 2020 due to Covid-19, there have been no tourists and thus, no tips to supplement the family incomes of the children. Despite the lack of tourists and no financial reward, the kids continue to have regular rehearsals to prepare for the day they can start giving performances again.
It became apparent we need to help support the choir children and their families during this pandemic. We regularly reward them with turkeys, pigs, chickens, ducks, school supplies and other things that will help their families thrive despite the hardships.
With these rewards, several kids have been able to breed their animals and learn about farming. The goal is to give them a better life than their parents had. And these animals help them accomplish that goal. See below for more information about the Ankevohevo Children’s Choir.
![]() |
![]() ![]() Hunger Crisis Project: The south of Madagascar was experiencing an ongoing drought affecting over 1 million people. Because of the lack of water and poverty, people are literally starving to death. People have had to leave their homes to scavenge anything they can find for food. Malnourishment among children is climbing at alarming rates. GemsOfMadagascar.org partnered with two other fabulous organizations, The Acronis Foundation and www.EnterTheEarth.com, to send over 11 metric tons of food to two neighboring villages in the South. The truck, driver and security were provided by the emergency relief branch of the Malagasy government. Our in-country representatives, Santatra and Benja, went along to ensure a smooth distribution to those most in need.
Although this drought is far from the villages where we work, we wanted to benefit them as well. To do this, we bought as many crops as possible from them. The school director has also agreed to allow the children at the new school to help stuff bags with vegetables as a humanitarian project. This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn about those less fortunate in their own country. The mission was successful yet challenging. There were several vehicle breakdowns and two bandit attacks, so we’re grateful our team made it home safely. The great news is that this mission saved lives. The milk provided gave the little boy, in the arms of our representative above, and his family the strength and endurance to make the journey to a hospital farther away to have him treated. We’re happy to say, the little boy survived.
|