So it’s been a while since I’ve updated because I’ve sort of
fallen into a rhythm and there’s not been much to tell. But recently I’ve had
some cool experiences, watching this big water project come into fruition, so
I’ve decided to write a short blog.
Below I have a couple of action shots from being at my friend James’
site and teaching either about HIV/AIDS or water/sanitation depending on the
age group.
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| Oh, and the Catholic church has lemurs out back...? |
Below I’m doing a house-to-house interview about hygiene
habits, sanitation and water use and purification techniques. At the end, I’ve
been doing a summary of the three messages central to WASH education. It’s
okay, but it’s pretty much unofficial for now. I don’t write responses or
anything; we just talk. I’m hoping to build decent communication with the
people in ambanivohitra (towns on the commune fringe, literally “below the big
town”). Soon I’ll conduct real surveys and do some focus groups and hopefully
will be able to figure out how well the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)
approach is working toward affecting behavior change as part of this RANO HP
project.
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| Town meeting for WASH education |
I got to meet the Minister of Water for Madagascar, pictured
below, as he came to explain some of the legal aspects of the water project,
the contract to be signed with a service provider, and the role of government
in oversight and regulation.
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| From left to right: CARE representative, Minister of Water, Director of Water for the Eastern Region, Deputy Mayor, and the guy making a talking point represents a Mada NGO called Voahary Salama. |
Then I got to meet the head of water and sanitation for CARE
International—not just for Mada, but the world. It’s pretty cool, and pretty unexpected,
to be honest, to have the opportunity to meet some of the people that have come
to my site. I count myself lucky in my Peace Corps assignment. In addition to
seeing development work from the perspective of rural communities, I’m able to
see how NGOs work and partner to do projects, which really interests me.
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| From left to right: Edmond the deputy mayor (and one of the town presidents, too), Jonathan (CARE Madagascar), Madame Vola (NGO SAF Moramanga), a community health worker, and Peter (CARE Int’l, based in Atlanta). |
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| This is the mayor of my commune (right) and a representative from the private sector company Velo (left) signing the 10-year contract that will hopefully ensure sustainable, acceptable service of the new water systems for the people of the community. |
Another general update for the country is a little less optimistic
than things are going at site. There have been strikes in major country
sectors, so far including teachers at schools and now doctors are starting too.
There have also been a lot of political demonstrations in the capital, some of
them escalating to riots and broken up by tear gas, etc. I don’t say this to
worry people, but just to make them aware, because there is so little news
coverage of it (even here in Mada), that things are tense away from the rural
parts of the country. Anyway, I’m hoping it calms down, obviously. I’d like to
finish my service here and all.
That’s all I have for now. Still figuring work and research
out, but it’s coming along. My girlfriend Tricia comes to Mada in mid-July,
which I’ve been looking forward to since I got here, and she’ll be here for a
few weeks, so we’ll travel around. The next blog will be sometime afterward, and
should at least have some good photos.
