Coming home…

The Big news

I’m moving back to Scotland this summer. Antananarivo has been a mixture of joys and sorrows, and while I am very glad I completed a year here, I’m delighted I’m coming home.

I’m back early July and hope to catch up with a few people then. It feels a bit like a miracle, I have a job starting in St. Leonard’s school, St. Andrews at the end of August. Miracle because it is tough finding a teaching job in the UK when abroad, and because I think I’m going to really enjoy the school!

I’m excited to catch up with old friends in Scotland and settle back into Scottish culture. It will be quite a change, just a few thoughts of things that will be ‘new’ to me:

Traffic lights, we have none here. Will I remember to stop for them?
Elections that don’t cause the country to grind to a halt. In Madagascar the presidential election date has not yet been set and already there are lots of peaceful protests and strikes here, including hundreds of state schools on strike despite the looming exams.
Regular social ‘clubs’ to attend. Here after work most malagasy spend hours getting home and few have time for a ‘club’.
Not having to go to some government office every few weeks to sign a piece of paper or other annoying administration. To give you an idea, here, driving license papers have to be processed in the capital which can be a multiple day journey.
Being able to have more than a basic conversation with folk on the street.
Speed limits and speed cameras.
When riding, not having to watch out for: men pushing carts in the road, vehicles stopped in the middle of the road with legs sticking out into the traffic from underneath, chickens, huge holes hidden by the vehicle in front, motorbikes squeezing in the gaps, ducks being herded, people sitting in the road begging. Drivers here are wonderfully patient, there is rarely a hint of road rage. Can we export that attitude back to Scotland?

Life in the big smoke

Living in Antananarivo has had good bits and bad bits. Here are a few (G=Good,B=Bad, A=amazing)

G After Christmas I rented a simple middle class Malagasy flat near to the edge of Tana. It boasts gorgeous views and sunsets, has outstanding mountain biking nearby and includes a free viewing platform for the Sunday afternoon cockfighting (which is technically illegal to please the international donor community).

B My compound has a 9pm curfew. It keeps me safe at night but means I need to book a cheap hotel for a night out.

G It’s been great to return to classroom teaching with a group of lovely students and a simple science lab.

B Teaching multiple levels at the same time (KS3/GCSE y1/GCSE y2) is exhausting and I’m unsatisfied with the quality of instruction I can give.

G I have 2 sets of 2 wheels, my 10 year old mountain bike from Scotland (which is still a fabulous bike, albeit after a bit of local welding and a few bits tied on with string) and a small scooter. The mountain biking here is world class, as is scooting. Tana is a city for 2 wheels like no other, the back streets are lovely to ride. I was tempted by a real motorbike for longer distance jaunts but the license paperwork is too lengthy. Next time.f[‘

B Friends are scattered across the city and often getting to see them after work is difficult as a result.

A We have developed a wonderful primary teaching course, and trainer book written by a brilliant primary teacher Lara Dikha from Australia. She visited at Christmas and trained a huge number (about 220) of teachers in trainings we organised for her. We are now working on training local trainers to pass on her course. You can find her book for free download at http://mada-enseignants.org

? I haven’t trained nearly as many teachers as that…about 150 in the year. But overall we trained as many teachers as last year…a wonderful surprise!! A big focus was working with a lovely high end Christian School – ‘Vision Valley School’.

G …instead I’ve been focusing on developing trainers in Antananarivo. So far local trainers in Tamatave have delivered about 80 certificates this year

B Due to plague, very rainy wet season, protests and strikes as we approach the presidential election and the size of the city, Tana schools have not been particularly interested in our training. Though if I’d stayed in Tamatave it would have been much worse. They were badly hit by the plague (despite the species of flea there being unable to carry plague), a cyclone and a couple of tropical storms! Our Tamatave training has been very limited as a result. (Country-wise this has been a very difficult year compared to the easy years in Tamatave)

G Riding to school passing cow drawn carts full of local bricks; buying fresh warm cows milk in fanta bottles; giving scraps to my neighbors pigs.

B I have been sick quite a lot this year, in contrast to last year. Not sure why. Nothing chronic.

G I’ve learnt you can do an incredible amount of development work on a tiny budget. My budget has been about £500 a month for everything. Here, big NGOs often have big value projects that are essential, but other times they spend a lot of money on not so much…

I remember when I came here 3 years ago, it was motivated by IS. I saw how they ruin peoples lives, and wanted to do something opposite to that. I think I’ve been successful in some small way. Sadly it is time to move on and leave local people behind to develop and improve the work.

We have spent a significant amount of time and effort developing courses that connect with local teachers where they are at, in their national language. For teachers who have really connected with our program, they say the results have been transformative.

Looking forward

I’m going to spend a small amount of time managing and supporting the training school while I’m in Scotland. Some key things my staff will be working on here while I’m gone:

Promoting and delivering courses across Madagascar.
Supporting trainers delivering courses.
Selling the books in local bookshops.
Registering as an ‘association’ in Madagascar.

If you think you would like to be part of what we do in some way (more than the incredibly valuable way you already are, by taking an interest and encouraging me), do get in touch by leaving a comment.

If you pray, you might like to pray for:

Pray for the local trainers, that they would find joy in what they do
Pray for the training school project’s success, moving forward.
Pray for a successful and safe return. There is a lot to organise and I’ve been sick and exhausted in the last couple of weeks.
Pray for the logistics of the move to Scotland (and somewhere to stay in St. Andrews) to come together

Pictures from the year