Hey everyone!
Welcome to the Blog of Boky Mamiko!
After months of preparation, the day has finally arrived: our first volunteer students have gone all the way to Djangoa, Madagascar! In this Blog they will keep you updated with the progress of the project at École Mamiko. Have fun reading it!
Journey of the books: Over the last couple of months we have collected and classified tons of French and Malagasy-French children's books in order to run the library at the École Mamiko. And now the time has finally come: we are ready to bring them to Djangoa! With 60 kilo of luggage each, we - Sarah and Domi - took the train to Milano-Malpensa, where the airplane took off late in the evening. The airline NEOS generously provided us with free tickets plus extra luggage in order to bring the books to Madagascar. After a very comfortable flight, we arrived in Nosy Be, a very green island in the North-West of Madagascar. When we left the plane, our skin went wet within a few seconds because of the high air humidity and temperature. It had rained the same morning, which is exceptional in dry season (which it is now).
Getting the visa and our luggage was no problem, but as we arrived at the customs, we came into trouble. Unfortunately, the officers checked our luggage - full of books and solar lamps - and it took 15 minutes of discussion and convincing until they let us go without paying.
After that we found ourselves in a taxi, d(r)iving into the green. Chameleons, banana, mango, papaya, and pineapple trees... We also already got a first impression of what local people's lives look like. We were welcomed very warmly by Geneviève, the school founder of the École Mamiko. What a great first impression of this country! And now, after 2 days in a hotel in Nosy Be, we are excited (and a bit nervous) to travel to Djangoa and meet the children and people living there.
June 7, Sarah and Dominic
