Experiences of a Lifetime.

         So I have been going on lots of adventures here in Majunga. It has been so great to really get out in the field myself and start doing some individual explorations and also to visit some places that I find really interesting. Yesterday we went to visit a mosque which was really cool- In order to respect the religion, as women, we had to cover up our heads and lower bodies with “lambas” which is basically a large scarf or sarong. It was interesting to be dressed as the Muslim women would be dressed because I felt like it allowed me to see things more through the eyes of a Muslim women. I had to wear a headscarf and a sarong tied around my waist as a long skirt (since I was wearing a knee length skirt and had to have everything covered except my arms). I had only a basic understanding of the Muslim religion upon my visit to the mosque but what was incredible to me was to see in person the gender inequalities that are present in the Muslim religion.

            The guy giving us the tour (he was a Muslim himself) showed us the separate prayer rooms for men and for women. He explained that if they prayed together, women needed to be in the back so the men would not get distracted. It is the same in the classroom as well, we got shown the rest if the mosque and where all the students were educated and since they do not have enough space to make two separate classrooms for the girls and the boys the girls have to sit in the back of the classroom with the boys. He then explained that nudity for a man is just his lower half so he only needs to wear pants while in the mosque. Nudity for a woman is her whole body which is why all the girls in my program had to have their whole bodies covered.

            It was very interesting for all of us to get a firsthand perspective on such a different way of life and religion that many of us had not really explored. Oh and I must have forgotten to mention that the city of Majunga has quite a large Muslim population due to migration from the Comoros Islands and many Indo-Pakistani migrants and influences as well.

            Today we had a few more wonderful adventures. I got to visit a Malagasy “College” or middle school, as it is known in the United States. I went to visit this school in a group with three other students. We went to chat with the director for a bit and then went into an English classroom where the students were thrilled to see four Americans in the front of their class. It was pretty incredible to chat with the director of a public middle school with about 1,300 students. He was a pretty incredible man.

            He talked about the basics of the school and then we were able to ask more in-depth questions about the school itself and the educational system in Madagascar. It is actually quite interesting and very alarming to say the least. So to explain this quickly, there are three levels of schooling in Madagascar. You have primary school for five years, then college (or middle school/ junior high) for four years and then lycee (or high school) for three years. In order to get into each respective school one must pass a test to get in. If the student does not pass then he/she must repeat the grade or go to a private school. Now in addition to having exams to get into the respective schools, the students need to pass exams at the end of each school year in order to move onto the nest grade. You can see how this might pose a problem for those students who find it hard to study due to their living conditions at home, or the quality of teaching might be sub-par or it could be due to any other things that might ail children in a developing country. This system leads kid to have to repeat grades (or go to private school as I stated earlier, but private school is much more expensive than public school).  Once a student has repeated multiple grades, you could see how it could be discouraging to students and unfortunately many of them drop out. The director gave us statistics on the number of students that have to repeat grades each year and it was about 15% on average in the school I visited.

            Not only is this a problem but, due to the political crises all funding to the schools from UNICEF has been suspended. The government pays for most public schooling anyways but unfortunately this leaves a financial gap that needs to be filled. The parents of the students are obligated to pay 10,000 Ariary per student per school year (conversion wise that is about $4.50 in USD). Believe it or not there are some parents that cannot afford that, and thus that child does not get an opportunity for education. There are also issues in being able to buy supplies for schools such as pens, notebooks and uniforms. There are many parents that cannot afford this as well, and as a result, do not send their child to school. The director was telling us that many parents would ask for a delay in the tuition fees because they could not afford it at the start of the school year in October- he told us that he really should not give people extensions because a part of the 10,000 Ariary involves student insurance. If something were to happen to an uninsured student then it would be on his watch but he told us that he decides to take that chance because it is more important to have that student in school. It was really interesting to hear him talk about that- I really think more school systems could use people like him. - Directors that care more about the wellbeing of the children than themselves.

            Also- I almost forgot to mention that while we visited, the teachers were on a strike and out of the 45 teachers that taught at the school, only 4 showed up for work. Despite the strike, many of the students were at school and ready to learn. The director told us that the main reason was because most of their parents work during the day and school is a place to send their child for supervision. But, as I walked by the classrooms without teachers I was surprised to see the children taking it upon themselves to study and do homework. This trip was very valuable to me in that it really made me thankful for all of the education opportunities I have in the United States. It opened my eyes to the realities of the educational situations in Madagascar (and this goes for other developing countries as well) and how they are desperately in need of reform if the people (and country) are ever going to get out of the cycle of poverty they are born into.

            Whew that was a lot on my adventures. I hope you enjoyed reading about the intricacies of Malagasy life for today- Personally, education, health and topics involving social work are the most interesting topics for me, so I will be taking a lot about them throughout my journey! Get excited- I am going to visit a health clinic tomorrow so you will be able to hear allll about it! I have talked a little bit about the healthcare here but hopefully after my visit tomorrow I will have more of an in depth view of healthcare in Madagascar. Also, to come tomorrow: I am going to write a little about my ideas for my thematic seminar paper; which is a 15 page paper due at the end of march on a broader topic related to Malagasy culture aaaand the topic of my ISP; which is my independent study project, an assignment that will take up the whole month of April and will lead me to conduct field work and interviews. I cannot wait to learn more! Until tomorrow!