Learn Achieve Become (L.A.B) - UK registered charity no.1174514
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Waiting on a call... Our Madagascar project
LABNATHAN • 19 January 2022
In 2020, we were ready, then the pandemic hit...
In all honesty, being at the forefront of efforts to create Nosy Be's first disability centre ended up creating more stress than I could have ever imagined, I just wish I could say that it was worth it already.
When I made the promise to 20 sets of parents in August 2018, I hadn't really considered how large of a task we were taking on. Yes, we had a team of skilled potential staff, but no ability to pay them. Yes, we had the vision for a disability centre, but no building to use. Yes, we had students & parents in need, but how could we make a start in supporting them? Upon realising that I would need to fundraise ALL the money for a hefty piece of land, construction materials & labour, full & part-time centre staffing, running/utilities costs, student welfare, transport & other costs I hadn't even considered, that is when it dawned upon me, 'This process may take many years beyond our 12 month prediction'.
But, in some miraculous way, we were almost on track. In August of 2019, that is when it dawned upon me 'This process may actually be achievable'. The guys at Madagascar Research & Conservation Institute (MRCI) had purchased us 800m2 of fertile land & committed to building the centre. Our fundraising efforts were paying off - We had got enough money to cover the running, staffing, transport & student welfare costs. The other costs were covered by MRCI.
We had a date, finally, in April of 2020, the centre was going to be built! But what occurred in the month prior to that, we all know.
Fast forward to the date of writing this piece (19/1/22) & not a single brick has been placed upon the soil where our centre shall stand. Has our motivation for the project died? Not at all.
In 2018, making that promise to the students & their families was a promise I would commit to for life... L.A.B will create the first disability centre on Nosy Be. This disability centre will bring free education, life skills and employment opportunities for students & their families. And we will make it a success. A promise is a promise.
Now, the idea of me moving to Madagascar to run this disability centre has taken its personal toll - causing relationships to end, provoking many arguments amongst my closest peers & opening me up to levels of stress that I hadn't previously known possible. Maybe now, the stress doesn't quite feel worth it as I know our students in Madagascar are still being uneducated & we have no conceivable way of arriving there. But, one thing I know for sure, is that the second that centre is opened, when our students have a chance at life, when their parents are free to earn a living, in that second, I will know it was all worth it.
