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During the run-up to the ‘COP26’ UN Climate Change Conference, important conversations on accelerating climate action are taking place around the world. But how many of these talks will cover the impact of the climate crisis on Madagascar? Given the contents of reports from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and Amnesty International— which present that 1.31 million people will be living in high acute food insecurity by December of 2021, with 500,000+ children facing the threat of malnutrition in the country’s southern regions— we hope to see Madagascar’s crisis receive the international attention it deserves. The same level of attention that Gerard Andriatsiory has given it over the past 11 months, through his work on our Food Distribution Project. Laza Andriamboavonjy and Sylvestre Mbola also know a thing or two about giving their all to their projects - something the bats in Sainte Luce would attest to! In spite of mounting climate pressures, there are still many things to celebrate and look forward to here in Anosy (including some World Lemur Day celebrations and Stitch Sainte Luce specials… scroll for an exclusive sneak peek!). |
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Gerard outside SEED's office in Fort Dauphin. Photographed by: Maria Campuzano |
"The objective in my life is to help people" |
Gerard Andriatsiory is the Assistant Coordinator of our Food Distribution Project. Not only does Gerard coordinate this project in 4 of the 5 communes we are working with, but he is directly involved in almost every stage of the project. From assisting with the weighing of children with suspected malnutrition, to leading education sessions with community health workers, Gerard has worked tirelessly to do his best to support communities in Anosy. Explaining what motivates him to do his job, Gerard says “The objective of my life is to help people - this job is helping me reach this objective. I am just really happy to help people”. Working at the centre of this crisis has meant that Gerard has witnessed communities’ suffering first-hand, “Malnutrition in children under 5 is rife. This is the reality in Anosy and yet we did not invite it in; us Malagasy people have done nothing to cause this.” In a message to SEED’s supporters, Gerard says “I will be really happy once no Malagasy people have malnutrition. If you want to help children under 5 [with malnutrition], please support SEED." |
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NEW! Stitch Christmas decorations. Photographed by: Rebecca Dallimore |
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OK OK, we hear you - it’s only October! But what are we to do when we have stock like this in our inventory waiting to be launched for the festive period?! We simply can’t control our excitement over these pieces and, after seeing the rather snazzy Christmas decorations above, we hope you can see why. The women of Stitch Sainte Luce have been busy over the past few months embroidering some special pieces for Christmas, which we will be keeping as a surprise for launch next month (keep your eyes peeled!). The best part about supporting Stitch Sainte Luce is that, by doing so, you support the talented artisans behind the pieces, helping them earn a vital income. This income means that families can afford to feed themselves and send their children to school - two increasingly difficult things to do during such challenging times in Madagascar. |
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Bats in Sainte Luce. Photographed by: Tsiraiky Rossizela |
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Western celebrations of Halloween have given bats a bit of a bad reputation. Synonymous with ‘spookiness’ and vampires, bats have been wrongly vilinised as creatures to be fearful of. This week is Bat Week, so we’re celebrating bats just a little bit more than usual here at SEED. Not only are bats to be celebrated for the vital role they play in Sainte Luce’s ecosystem as pollinators and seed dispersers but, for this reason, they also need to be protected! Thanks to the hard work of the brilliant Laza Andriamboavonjy, Sylvestre Mbola, and the rest of the team on our Project Rufus, there were 700+ bats recorded flying around their SEED-protected roost during the team's latest bush trip. Bats are friends, not foes! |
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One of the football teams taking part in the community football match organised by Project Ala. Photographed by: Annelin Verkade |
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Whilst lemurs are incredibly intelligent and dexterous creatures, they’re not quite capable of playing a football game themselves. Luckily, the youth of Sainte Luce are very enthusiastic about playing football on their behalf! So, for World Lemur Day, the Project Ala team has arranged a community football match. With six teams, four named after lemur species and two named after native tree species, the purpose of this football match is to promote a greater awareness and understanding of lemur conservation in the community of Sainte Luce in a fun and engaging way. All six teams will be playing for their species to win, whilst learning more about the species they're representing. This will bring the species into a much-loved community activity, to help lemurs become a household name and create more positive local associations with the species. Local community involvement, understanding, and support of Project Ala is vital to the conservation of four Endangered lemur species in Sainte Luce, and we're glad that achieving this together is an enjoyable activity for all! |
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Mini Monthly Malagasy Lesson with Lima ‘Hazo tokana tsy mba ala’ - ‘one tree is not a forest’ (meaning: we can achieve more together than we can alone) |
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