Christmas in Madagascar

I got back yesterday evening from a 5 day trip to the south-east of Madagascar...we drove almost 2000km in 4x4 jeep...it was humid, hot, rainy, exciting, interesting, informative...so those are some of the reasons why no real Christmas feeling is coming up, because 30 degrees C and the lychee season just do not go along with my idea of Christmas...but still:

I would like to wish you all merry Christmas!

We are going to have a big Christmas dinner tonight and I think I have never celebrated the Holy Night it such an international circle of people...Cameroon, Brazil, Canada, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia, Mauritius and Germany...definitely something different from back home and for sure very interesting!

MGG Fabi

A Simulated Crisis and a Real Accident

Two weeks ago I returned from a crisis simulation which took place in Foulpointe, at the East coast of Madagascar.

The simulation was a long planned project, mainly organized and lead by the Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes (BNGRC).

BNGRC which belongs to the Malagasy military operated with several civil partners such as the Red Cross, Meteo-Station, UNICEF, OCHA and WFP. The exercise had 2 different parts whereby we have been more concerned about the strike of a fake cyclone with all its consequences, because a damaged oil tanker is not much of a business for WFP.

After being briefed about the rough outlook of the things to expect, the exercise really got started in Foulpointe where all participating actors have been informed about the damage the cyclone had left. We got to know that there were about 50 people who lost their homes, 12 missing and a couple of fatal victims.

Our part of the game was to ensure that our cooperating partner, the Red Cross, has been provided with sufficient food to distribute to the 50 cyclone victims.

The group of people, volunteers from the local village, were expected to arrive at the Red Cross camp on Monday afternoon. On the camp site they all have been registered and taken care of in the provisional tents.

With the arrival of the “victims” the problems began…because up to that time there was neither running water nor electricity.

No water meant no usable latrines, no showers and no possibility to cook the rice…and the worst: there was not even drinking water available.

The group of people consisted of men, women (some pregnant) and little children…after waiting almost 4 hours in the hot tents, burnt by the sun and still with no running water available, the Red Cross was one inch away from calling off the simulation because the simulated crisis got a little bit to real for the villagers….at least OCHA organized enough bottles of water from shops downtown (which I think was against the rules of the game) to relax the situation a little bit.

To keep the Red Cross from leaving the exercise, BNGRC decided to continue the simulation but without the 50 people…at least they could keep the provided items such as blankets and buckets for themselves and received a sincere excuse from the officials.

Even though the simulation went on, enough confusion was created between the different actors blaming each other for various faults tensioning the atmosphere.

As a conclusion I have to admit that once again I was quite surprised what kinds of problems occur even at such high level of professionalism. Knowing that this was a well in advanced planned exercise and still having fundamental problems such as delivering water is stunning a experience.

But that is why we practice such important exercise, to see where we can improve to ensure that in real life situation things will run better and people will be helped immediately and effectively.

Lesson learned: strong communication and clear organization is mainly the key to success in most of the cases…even though it might be just a simulated one…and with the recent beginning of the cyclone season we better learn quickly.

MGG Fabi

Footnote:

Last Saturday night, after leaving a Cameroon party with Tulika and two colleagues we have been waiting for a taxi. Suddenly we saw a speeding car heading towards our direction when the driver lost control and turned 180 degrees, flipped a couple of times before landing in the ditch.

We have been the only ones in the lonely area who saw the accident taking place so we ran immediately to the car which luckily landed on its wheels. At first I checked for the woman on the passenger seat. She was conscious and not badly injured so I looked for the driver. He was clearly in a worse condition than her girlfriend, having a bleeding wound on his head and being semi-conscious.

I was trying to keep him in the car to avoid unnecessary movement but he slid out of the car so I laid him on the ground checking his respiration. By that time I was glad that more people came to help…when finally somebody said that there is no ambulance coming we put the driver in a car and he has been taken to the hospital.

Afterwards we have been asked to take care of the car so that nobody will steal anything from this already totally wrecked vehicle…unbelievable!

Lesson learnt:

Number 1 – calling for an ambulance in Madagascar might be a lost cause

Number 2 – I need definitely another course in first aid

Number 3 – please always wear the seat belt

Number 4 - Cameroon parties are nevertheless fun ;-)

Current Likes & Dislikes

Likes

• The Hash: I am not talking about the illegal substance, but about the Hash Walk, which takes place every second Sunday. A group of people, mainly foreigners, meet outside of the city and go for a cross-country walk. They follow a trail which is has been marked before by some volunteers. It is a nice way to get out of town and to get to know new people...and as a first time Hasher, you will have to take a beer shower as initiation!

• My Rain Jacket: with the recent beginning of the rain season I like my rain jacket made by Aldi even better...but it is not that I do have a choice anyway, because here it is the only jacket I have.

• My Neighbourhood: I really like my neighbourhood with all the little grocerie shops, a small internet cafe, a pizza place, a French school and lots of vendors who are selling fresh vegetables and fruits.

• Our private Bakery: can you imagine living in a house where the family of the land lord has its own bakery on the first floor? Sounds heavenly, doesnt it? So I am taking advantage of this offer quite often which allows me to have fresh pastry almost every morning :-)

• Public Transportation: it is fairly simple to travel within the city, either take a taxi or go by mini-van. Both means of transport are most of the time available and affordable
  

Dislikes

• Public Transportation: even though it is fairly simple to travel within the city with either a taxi or by mini-van...there are some unpleasent features as well. Such as the permanent smell of gasoline and the worry that the vehicle will catch fire any second. The disadvantage of a mini-van is that is is really mini! For any person taller than 160cm it is quite exciting to sqeeze yourself (plus backpack) onto a small bench where already three Malagassy are seated!

• Shrimps: after my shrimp-overdose (to remind you...estimated eaten pieces: 150) in Fort Dauphin during the UN week, I am still not able to even look at shrimps. But let's see what happens next weekend when we will be at the east coast.

• The Absence of Street Light: "You better get home before it is dark!" Back home I would probably smile at such an advice...but here it makes way more sense. After sunset it is dark...really dark and when there is no street light then every walk, even in a familiar neighbourhood will become a challenge. Trying to avoid to step into dog poo, holes in which Tulika can easily fit in and disapear forever or simply other pedestrains which will bump right into you...those are the everyday obstacle to overcome after work!

MGG Fabi

UN-Week, Pirogging & Oktoberfest

Work first…and then a couple of days vacation in the south of Madagascar!

That was out plan when we went to Fort Dauphin two weeks ago. The reason for us heading south was the official begin of the UN-Week, which included the celebration of the “World Food Day” as well as the “World Poverty Day”. So our work schedule from Monday till Wednesday mainly consisted of presenting the WFP stand at an UN and NGO fair and visits to field projects of different agencies.

We left Fort Dauphin Wednesday morning in a UN convoy towards a WFP school-feeding project at the country side.

The idea of school-feeding is to create incentives for parents to send their children to school instead of keeping them at home to work on the field. In school the kids will be provided with 2 gratuitous meals from WFP, so the parents know that their children are taken care of well.

We went on to the little village of Manambaro where all the UN representatives and government officials have been happily welcomed. After attending the ceremony with various demonstrations of “How to get out of Poverty” we went on to a UN-Development Programme project where they to try to decrease the illiteracy rate of adults. The center is in the middle of different fields and directly located under a beautiful lychee tree, where we were given fresh coconuts and bananas.

Afterwards the work was done and we had a few days of free time, which we made well use of so the next day we visited the national park of Andohahela. The park offers a waste variety of medical plants, lizards and a great “piscine naturelle” were we cooled down from the burning sun.

Our way back also offered some “attractions” but the sort of which wasn’t really appreciated…meaning that our car was invaded by a big cockroach family. So for the 3 hour ride back to Fort Dauphin I was hunting those big bugs not daring to sleep for a second!

The best trip so far started on Friday morning at a lake close by the city. From there on we went with 2 guides on a pirogue (simple and small boat) towards a fishermen village, which was located 15km down the river. Rowing for the first on a pirogue a quite a challenge so we were more than happy that one of our guides, Jean-Jacque, was one huge piece of muscle who was probably to 90% responsible for our movement.

3 hours, a sore but and 4 blisters later we arrived in the village. We relaxed for a while before our other guide, Jacque, took us for a superb hike over the mountainous area and showing us beautiful and remote beaches of Lokaro.

We returned to our little bungalow where we a candle light dinner (there is no electricity in that area anyways) with our guides before falling in our “lakenzak”.

After a short night, being robbed by big lizard who took my throat medicine (seriously!) we went for another striking hike exploring the amazing costal area before we had to hop back into our pirogue.

Again, 3 hours later back where we started one day ago Tuli and I agreed that this was an incredibly nice tour so we thanked our great guides very much and we wouldn’t mind at all returning there again.

We spent the lasting one a half days chilling in the city, eating more shrimps (in total for the week: estimated 150 pieces) and enjoying the nice view at Libanon Beach before we had to leave for the airport.

80 minutes later, arriving via airplane in Tana we had a much better idea of how different and diverse Madagascar is…with its nature, culture and people…so we are already looking forward for our next trip to the north-west, which will hopefully take place in about two weeks.

MGG Fabi

A little footnote:

Yesterday we tried to go to the Oktoberfest in Tana, where 2 major Malagasy music stars were to perform…the event was probably for free which lured thousands of people. We were trying to get to there as well, but half way and stuck in a hectic crowd, the riot police thought it would be smart idea to worsen the situation by shoving and pushing the people back and towards a huge wall with their shield and night sticks. So the crowd including us tried to leave the risky scene…and then it happened: my mobile got pick pocketed!

Luckily I do have a back up of my address book so no major harm done, but the worst was when I actually called with Tuli’s mobile my own number and a guy picked up. I told him that I “lost” my mobile and that I wouldn’t mind if he would return it to me…his reaction: pure laughter!

I am still not sure whether he laughed about my attempt to get my mobile back or about my German accent while talking French.

Lesson learnt: Oktoberfest + Malagasy music star + riot police = “lost” mobile

Odette & Valisoq

Odette clearly stands out of the group of people waiting patiently during a warm day in the backyard of the Suplmentary Feeding Center.
Looking into her face, which is marked by deep and expressive crinkles, it is difficult to guess her age. For certain, she is by far the oldest person here.
In Madagascar, where the life expectancy is an average 57 years for women, Odette being 72 years old is almost exceptional.
Odette doesn’t come here day by day just by herself, she takes the 12 month old baby boy Valisoq to the center, too. Valisoq is her nephew which is hard to believe given the difference in age. Maybe it is this harsh contrast of age and generation which makes their appearance so striking.
Valisoq is ill, which is the reason for him being taken to the center. Back home his parents cannot take care of him properly because they have to work all day long. So it is up to Odette to look after the 1 year old.

In the center, Valisoq receives important medical attention to improve his situation. Besides the health treatment, it is the daily ration of food aid which makes the unlike couple come here. Odette is very grateful for the help offered by the center. Her appreciation is even more understandable when you know that she lives in severe poverty, earning 1 US-Dollar per day.
She can feed Validoq directly in the center and receives another home-food ration for her nephew. But unfortunately the take-away meal won’t be enough to feed Validoq sufficiently, because it will be shared with his parents and 4 siblings.
A whole household sharing a food ration which is only meant to feed one child is a big problem for the center, but who will blame the hungry family?
This is one challenge which remains to be tackled by WFP and its Suplmentary Feeding Centers to which Odette will return tomorrow with Valisoq to receive food aid again.

Home sweet home…pies, kids and turtles

Crossing fingers and squeezing thumbs obviously helped us to get the apartment I mentioned in my last blog entry. So we left our hotel to move in our new home, which is conveniently located between the town centre and the WFP office.

Actually it is not just an apartment, but we share a house with a Malagasy family. We have the entire first floor for ourselves, which includes two bedrooms, a great living room, kitchen, bathroom and we can hang out in the little garden.

The family with father Lala and wife, the 3 year old son Sasa and 7 month old baby girl live at the second floor. They are really nice, helpful and carrying so when ever we have a problem they help us out and give us some useful inside information about Tana. Another great feature about our new home is the fact that the family is also into bakery business. So our place is filled with the lovely smell of various daily fresh baked pies.

Besides the many good aspects about living with the family, I have to admit that the kids are quite “active” but I hope that it is just a matter of time to get used to the different level of noise…and if not, then I am really glad that I brought my MP3 player with the in-ear-headphones.

I almost forgot…we do have pets. Tuli discovered two big turtles in our backyard this morning, but I am not sure whether they really belong there or maybe they are just “stored” until it is cooking time.

MGG Fabi

Welcome to Madagascar!

Finally…I arrived in Madagascar. After my flight from Rome to Milan to Nosy Be (a paradise island in Northern Madagascar), we touched ground 16th of September at 9 o’clock a.m.

Tuli and I have been picked up by a WFP driver and his huge jeep with the UN-logo on it…yes, I have to admit that stuff like that still puts a smile on my face.
We got of at our hotel which is really nice and conveniently located, so that we can actually walk to the office.
We found a note in our rooms that Arne (a Norwegian PI consultant) will visit us.
So we spent the afternoon having lunch with him and his family. It was a pleasant gesture by Arne to spend his Sunday with us…so we were welcomed warmly.

For our first day at work we have been picked up again by a driver. Probably just to make sure that the interns don’t get lost on their first day. Arne was already there and showed us a little bit around before Volana arrived as well. She will be our direct supervisor and closest colleague. We spent most of the week with briefings from the different departments. Everybody was very keen on explaining to us what his or job is…so we got plenty if information about logistics, IT, school feeding, food for work, nutrition centres, etc.
It will take some time to get the whole picture, but this introduction was very helpful.

In our Public Information department we are mainly responsible for the external perception of WFP Madagascar. So from writing press releases to looking for suitable collaborations to enhance the visibility of WFP, we are the ones when it comes to spreading publicly the word of hunger.

The interns were directly involved in writing a briefing for our country director Krystyna, because she will meet a high US government official to discuss the relations between the States and WFP. This meeting is quite important because the USA are the biggest donor of WFP.

We received lots of input for the briefing from Stefanie who is a programme officer. Following her remarks for the first time is a challenge and even more to put that later on in a comprehensible language.

Arne recommended that we should try to write a single part ourselves, so Tuli had to compose something about the pre-positioning of food stocks and I had to write a paragraph concerning the re-introduction of sorghum to the dry South of Madagascar (I will write an extra blog entry about what WFP is really into here in Madagascar sometime in the near future).

We finalized the briefing note Friday evening after receiving extensive feedback from Stefanie…but normally we are allowed to leave the office at 2pm on Fridays…nice, huh?

Besides our work we spent most of the time looking for an apartment. We called several real estate agencies to help us out…but the offered places were either way too big (3 floors just for Tuli and me!!!), not furnished, still being renovated or just too far away from the city centre.

We put our hopes into an offer I found via the StudiVZ (German Facebook), so there might be an apartment available where already other interns lived before.

We will check it out the next days…keep the fingers crossed or squeeze the thumbs…what ever you do to wish us good luck!

As soon as we gonne settle permanently I will give you some more impression of the city itself, my office and the daily life so far.

MGG Fabi