A quick look back into 6 months in Madagascar
Madagascar, one of the dream places in which I longed to be when I was young, is where I claimed “home” for the second half of 2017. Yet, living the out of ordinary dream, I didn’t seem to realize how extraordinary were the countless pieces of little things I encountered on a day-to-day basis. Now looking back, so many perhaps-once-in-a-life-time things had happened in these 6 months. Therefore despite much retrospectively, I just need to recollect and put together the little pieces of memories before they slowly drift away.
Starting off with my work, there at a local NGO called Reef Doctor based in a small fishing village in the Southwest of Madagascar, I had the opportunity to work on community-based marine conservation with local people as well as international volunteers. Conservation at the local level was something I became passionate about after my very first taste of working on practical conservation issues at the global level in the United Nations in Kenya. It was the mundaneness of sitting in the office day in and day out drove me to the front lines of local communities to see for myself how conservation actually plays out on the ground. Turns out surprisingly, I really enjoyed much more the field than the office (absolutely not being sarcastic) thanks to the beachfront panoramic ocean view, the daily scuba diving-related activities, and the complete silence/emptiness/isolation at my own disposal. Although there was a slight drawback from living minimally – including having very limited electricity/internet/meal options, drinking salty brackish water from the well, and not by choice coexisting with cockroaches in the same room and sometimes the same bed (not an exhaustive list…), I couldn’t complain as this seemingly minimal living condition most likely would have been a heaven for many others in the village just next door to us…
The “Office”
Working in the “Office”
In fact, despite Madagascar being very rich in its biodiversity, this country is among the poorest nations in Africa. During my time working at Reef Doctor, I have witnessed how poverty among a wide range of social problems have taken a toll in many communities. Through a field project in collaboration with WWF Madagascar, I along with a handful of co-workers had the rarest opportunity to work in a few very small fishing villages so remote that were basically inaccessible by normal means. Here, it was the first time I saw and felt what it was like to be worried about not being able to put food on the table for every meal. In these coastal villages, people rely on marine resources almost exclusively. Everyday, men go out to the ocean with the hope of getting enough fish to feed their own family, and that’s a high expectation on a good day. The occasional extra fish they get would be considered as a bonus and that’s enough to get the whole family feel like the biggest lottery winner. On a bad day yet, people’s worry of going hungry just involuntarily climbed up onto their faces, especially for children many of which are already at risk of malnutrition but somehow still always get fed last. What’s worse is when weather doesn’t permit fishermen out fishing, most families do go hungry for the rest of the day. But that is what they call “life”.
The remote village of Beheloka
Kid & Pirogue
The saying of "every penny counts" may sound trivial to many, including myself before I came to these villages. But here the truth is, one more penny is tantamount to one better chance of getting by the day and that one little something more literally means the world to these people. I remember one time when I stood with the whole village around two grown men, looking at how fierce and antagonistic they were against each other fighting for over less than 0.1USD (as a participation stipend for a 3 hour long community meeting). Without any prior context, this battle for the money (a value of a few mangoes) could appear way-over-the-top stingy and unnecessary. But that is what they call “survival”.
Village meeting in Besambay
It is incidents like this made me realize that what local communities need is not just stand alone conservation. Most of the time it is not that they don’t buy into it, but simply they can’t afford buying into it. The well-being of people and their environment do go hand in hand and the reality is, without significant social development, conservation will only still remain an out-of-touch first-world problem in third-world countries.
*Note to self: Indeed, my understanding towards conservation has thereafter changed a lot. But at the same time, I have learned a lot about and been inspired by many other innovative interventions that can bring about comprehensive changes to local communities with environmental conservation as one of the cross-cutting themes.
Despite the constant struggle with basic needs, most people I have met in Madagascar nonetheless have given me the impression of “living in the moment”. I can’t recall how many times I was the one on the receiving end: getting the “foreigner privilege” of sitting the most comfortably (relatively speaking) in a 16 seater minivan with 30+ people, taking “free French lessons” from random people who are mostly patient and friendly (sometimes even from people who don’t really speak French), and being brightened up time after time by simply being around kind-hearted people who showed me a great deal of respect and acceptance.
*Note to self: It is true that I am biased and selectively spaced out some not-so-good experiences (mainly with people who see foreigners as cash machines), but I guess I have managed to spin these experiences as a “charity in disguise” :)
Hitch-hike stop and smile
This was one of the many hitch-hikes I have done; got picked up by this family who was doing some sight-seeing and photo-taking around. Not sure why I was invited into the photo but that literally made my day :')
A family of love and compassion
So I somehow got stranded in this small village of Andiolava (basically in the middle of nowhere) and it was getting dark. Seeing no hotels around, I decided to take my chances and walked into a random house to ask for a place to stay for the night. As soon as they saw me I was greeted with unexpected love and compassion, making me feel less like a complete stranger but instead a highly esteemed guest. I was offered not only a bed, but also food, chatters, and laughter. Although with no mosquito net or windows by my bed I had the worst night of sleep, deep down I was so glad to be stranded and found myself in the midst of all the mosquito buzzes and stuffy hot air.
Lastly, of course, it’s the people who I played, worked, and lived with every day that made these 6 months so fun and meaningful.
The Science Team of Reef Doctor
Victor the Chef
He's the reason I stayed for Saturday mornings on camp :P
Kids who befriended me
"Chinois" was my name to the kids in the village when I first arrived. Despite of the non-existence of understandable verbal communication between us, little by little I was befriended by these kids (e.g. Estella and Safidson). "Martin" was my name to these kids by the time I left.
So that was a quick look back into my time in Madagascar. Thanks for reading :)