To Madagascar with love from London

Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 5:01 PM by Lonely Planet

London's not all about shopping, exhibitions and partying. I was lucky enough to work voluntarily for Azafady for a few weeks in their Kilburn office. My job was to make their website more user-friendly. Or so I thought...

On my arrival, Mark the director had me writing emails, answering the phone, posting voluntary positions on university websites, scanning applications, running to the post office, making tea and contributing to the madness that is the office of Azafady. You think London is glam? Well Azafady's office is quite the opposite. And for good reason - 90% of the donations they receive go straight to Malagasy communities.

Here's what I learnt about Azafady in between making cups of tea:

A Malagasy NGO and UK-registered charity, Azafady works on conservation, development and community projects in Madagascar.

Azafady supports local communities by providing health and sanitation infrastructure and education, and by helping to develop alternative sustainable livelihood strategies. They also aim to protect and enhance the unique environment of Madagascar.

Besides working for the environment through tree-planting and a range of conservation initiatives, Azafady have built rural school buildings, wells, latrines and pharmacies as well as training community health workers.

The boys (Mark and Mal - top assistant) constantly rave about Madagascar, and for good reason:

Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, has a staggering diversity of plant and animal species, some 80% of which are found nowhere else on the planet. Besides being the home of the lemur, the island supports two thirds of the world's chameleon species, plus the cancer-treating Rosy Periwinkle.

While one of the biologically richest places on earth, it is also one of the world's poorest countries. Only about a quarter of the 17 million population has access to safe drinking water and the country typically spends as much on debt repayments each year as it does on health and education combined.

It's amazing what I learnt in a few weeks and I highly recommend a volunteer stint at Azafady. Of course it's not all about helping out in their London office. Stay tuned for the sorts of projects you can volunteer on in Madagascar.

- Lou McGregor

Labels: Africa, London, Sustainable and responsible tourism, Volunteer

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