Action Education and its partner Orange inaugurated the new Village Orange in Antsahafilo, in the Analamanga region, on 26 September 2023. This community of around 4,000 inhabitants now has high-quality infrastructure for access to water, health and education.
The public primary school in the village, 45 km from the capital, was 140 years old. With cracked walls and latrines in a very poor state of repair, the school presented a major risk of collapse and a real danger to the safety of the children.
It took 5 months to renovate. The basic health centre and sanitary blocks were also renovated and the building for the support staff rebuilt. A drinking water supply system has been built, and the school and health centre have been electrified.
The inauguration of this new Orange Village brought together the regional directorate of national education, the regional directorate of public health, the rural commune of Antsahafilo, the Action Education Madagascar team and the Orange team, including the Foundation's Managing Director.
" We're delighted that the school has been renovated. The parents are delighted and the children are happier and more motivated to go to school! "says Tantely, a parent. " Before, we had to take the sick to Imerimandroso, which was a long walk. But now that we have our health centre, it's great! We can treat all kinds of illnesses here! "adds Clémentine, a villager from Antsahafilo.
Supporting early childhood
Although the Village Orange Enfance d'Antsahafilo project has come to an end, Action Education's activities with the Antsahafilo community continue, notably with the IEPPE project (Investing in early childhood education and protection).
In Madagascar, more than 60% of pre-school children do not attend school according to a 2019 UNICEF report. And yet, this phase of learning represents the basis of a child's cognitive, motor and socio-emotional development and, later, of their school performance and socio-economic integration.
The aim of the project is to improve the health, nutrition and learning conditions of young children in Antsahafilo. Local facilitators will be trained to inform, raise awareness and support parents and teachers on the themes of health, nutrition and child protection. The project also provides for the establishment of a dialogue between the school management, the families and the local and educational authorities.
The Orange Village in Antsahafilo was financed by the Orange Foundation through the "rounding up" scheme. This scheme enables companies, as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy, to offer their employees the opportunity to round down their salary to the nearest euro to benefit an association. Several Orange Villages have already benefited from the partnership between the Orange Foundation and Action Education, in Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
