An update from America

Hello again!

I write to you now from the United States. I’ve been back home with my family for a while now, and I’m feeling the nostalgic urge to reminiscence. It was on May 4^th, 2015, that construction began. My Peace Corps service ended in September 2015, where I packed up my small brick house with its reverberating tin roof, and said bittersweet goodbyes to the town where I’d woven my daily experiences together for two years.

At this point in time, the construction team and surrounding communities were ardently working on a damn to quell the strong flow of water that was halting construction. A supporting pillar, (still drying in moist cement) had actually been swept up by the current and had to be rebuilt. The team did not let this obstruct their vision of finishing the bridge. They formed a plan to use sandbags and packed dirt as a wall against the water’s force. And after months of persistence, they succeeded.

Bernard, the architect, has sent me these photos from December 2015. Here he stands on the bridge, almost completely finished but for the railing and the removable wooden framework still attached.

Lookin' good!

I’ve asked Bernard to send a more recent photo and update to share with you. I can't thank everyone enough for donating and supporting this project throughout the past year. At least 30 students are now attending school who could not in the past because of road access. At least 12 students are living directly with their families in their own neighborhoods, instead of having to rent houses closer to the school compounds and living on their own during the school year. 

These kids are having a fuller childhood and a deeper community connection because their neighborhoods are more connected! 

Want to see the faces of the students this bridge will affect? Please enjoy this video, showing Antanifotsy and the bridge site in motion. 

Not much is known about this island-nation beyond the environmental aspects, and the popular cartoon movies. We hope this video sheds light on Madagascar and it's people for what they are, plainly, in the light of their village. 

We also hope this video highlights the progress of the bridge project to date. Thanks again to everyone who donated. Without your help none of this would be happening, and these students would still be struggling to get to school. As they say in Madagascar, "misoatra betseka!" Thank you so much for reaching out from across the world. 

The workers are fearless. Since my town is at such a high elevation, it’s a freezing Malagasy June. But that doesn’t stop them from submerging themselves, soaking their skin and clothes in ice water to manipulate its flow. Last Friday I went out to observe construction, and they were waist-deep working at the bases of the bridge pillars. They also carried in heavy sandbags to lessen the strength of the current.

The bridge is now about halfway done. Concrete pillars have been erected, and the first layer of the base has been put down on half the bridge’s length.

        

Construction hasn’t been without flaw… a few weeks ago the middle pillar, where the water is deepest, was toppled on its side by the strength of the water. The workers were naturally disheartened, but have shown great resilience. The architect has hatched a plan to re-erect the pillar. It will be rooted deeper into the water, and all the pillars will soon be weighted with stone blocks covered in dried cement.

The base of each pillar will be weighted in stones and then covered in cement, like hard nuggets frozen in melted chocolate

The fallen pillar will add another week to construction. This week the workers are taking a break because the water level is so high, but they will resume next week. Construction is on its way! 

The architect getting ready for action

Construction has officially started! Me, my sitemate Julia, and our counterpart Madame Bako embarked once more to the far side of where the future bridge will be.

Pastors hosted a ceremony at the site to bless the land. It lasted about an hour. The ceremony entailed lots of prayers, including one point where all the preachers walked towards the water and shouted vehemently all at once for a few minutes to ward away evil spirits. Lots of people from the neighboring communities came, including kids who are not in school that watched curiously, women in straw hats, and men helping dig out the thin dirt roads with shovels along the way.


Before the ceremony had even started, the workers were cracking. There was a huge hole that they were draining water from when we arrived.Long strands of green twine had been attached from one side of the bridge to the other to make a physical outline of construction.

The workers picked up stone blocks and carried them on their shoulders to the hole. They lifted sandbags and made a path with them in the water to divert the flow. They continued to dig near the shore, moving dirt in large piles by the hole. They weren't afraid to get sweaty or muddy. They were putting their backs into it!

Banging a stone to manipulate a wooden pole in the hole

The architect getting ready to drain the water from the hole

Diggin' down and dirty

This is just day 1. Construction will run through all of May and June. The townspeople are excited. The Pastor sends a special thanks to Peace Corps and to all who donated to help make this happen. So, from the community, thank you donors!

And if it's a hot day, look out for cow crossings.

Hey everyone! I'm happy to say we are fully funded and things are coming along on the bridge front.

Last Tuesday, me, Bernard (the architect), and Bako (my Peace Corps counterpart) went to the capital city (Tana) together to hunt for equipment. We left our town at 5 in the morning to beat the terrible beast that is Tana traffic. We got in a few hours later, got breakfast, and went to a hardware shop. (Rather, we spent about an hour trying to find a parking spot before getting to the shop... this city isn't very pedestrian friendly, but apparently it isn't very car-friendly either).

We went into a shop at the top of a hill. Now, this shop didn't have very much open space in it to begin with, and it was PACKED. We squeezed our way through the door and barely had room to enter. Luckily Bernard wiggled to the front desk and haggled for all the supplies we needed.

We waited in the throng, and slowly workers would hand us sets of requested items: gloves, hammers, nails, trowles, helmets, etc. They gave us a big cardboard box to pack it all into, which one of the workers took to our car (parked down the hill) by balancing it on his head, as is the style in Madagascar.

Bernard getting saws handed to him

The fruits of our first purchases... all the equipment the workers will need!

After getting receipts for everything, we got into the hot, sweaty car and drove around a bit until we found some women on a street corner selling wheelbarrows. I waited in the car with Bako as Bernard got out to haggle (cultural note: people tend to not go down as much in price if they see a white person). We got a good price for four wheelbarrows, which we loaded on top of the car.

After a quick lunch break of traditional Malagasy "rice with a sidedish," we went to a smaller market area and found a shop that sold all the railing material. Again, I waited in the car until the price was set, and then came in to give the money. It was cooler in this shop, which was a huge relief from the oppression of a sweltering Tana afternoon. The salseman was very excited to see a "foreigner" and even tried speaking a little English to me ("Madagascar nice? Thank you! One minute, is no problem). He was very friendly, which was nice from the usual indifferent vibe I get from most sellers.

The last thing to get was shovels and spades. Bernard found a stand that would sell them to us (handles sold separately), so again he did one last haggling dance.  When he gave the signal, I came out and we traded cash for goods. With shovels loaded in the car, we now had everything we'll need from Tana to make this bridge possible!

We are going shopping locally in Antanifotsy on Thursday. We'll get some cow carts to haul about 1/4th of the cement, wood, and sand we'll need. We'll be buying that in portions so it doesn't overflow our little storage house in Angavo (near the construction site).

The workers will break ground next Monday, May 4th... May the fourth be with them!

I'm still teaching during the week (oh yeah, I'm an ED volunteer), but I'll be biking out to the construction site every Friday to observe. May 8th will be my first day out there... can't wait to see this unfold!

Fantastic news... THE BRIDGE IS FUNDED!!!

A HUGE, huge thank you to all who helped make this possible. The townspeople are very excited at the prospect of the bridge. The impact of its construction will go a long way in terms of education, health, and agricultural trade. Buckets of gratitude from myself and my town.

Next steps: Having a discussion with the architect about how to buy materials.

Hopefully we can acquire all materials in the next few weeks. Time for some shopping in the capital!

More pictures will come once we break ground with construction. Looking forward to getting that first stone cracked!

The rains have been crazy this season. There's been a lot of flooding in the country. Last week, my town cancelled two days of school because the water levels were ridiculously high.

So much flooding. We need a bridge!

Once built, the bridge will

1) Help students get to the schools on the main commune, and help them get back to their families' neighborhoods safely after school.

2) Increase access to the hospital on the main commune

3) Increase access to markets on the main commune, especially for farmers who need to sell goods.

 At the time of this post we have raised $1,555 not including the my village's initial contribution of $3020. I'd really like to thank everyone who has contributed so far! You are making a difference in my student's lives!

Let's keep making strides. You help the people of Antanifotsy by contributing here: https://beta.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/bridge-to-education/

Misoatra Betseka! The students say, "Thank you!"