“Madagascar is one of the biologically richest yet humanly poorest countries in the world. Most plants and animals are endemic to the island and most are in danger as a result of habitat destruction. It is estimated that 96% of the island’s forests have been lost, mainly due to slash-and-burn agriculture. Only 27% of the 15 million population have access to clean drinking water and the mortality rate for children under 5 is a staggering one in ten.
Pioneer Madagascar is the volunteer programme of Azafady, a registered
UK-based charity (no. 107121) and Madagascar-based NGO. Through Pioneer Madagascar volunteers can experience working with a grass-roots organisation combating the problems of extensive deforestation and extreme poverty on this unique island. The programme focuses on integrated conservation and development initiatives which work closely with local people. Each scheme lasts 10 weeks, places are limited and approximately 75% of the costs go directly to running the projects; the remaining 25% covers your costs in-the-field.
During placements volunteers will learn to speak basic Malagasy and gather skills relevant to working in the fields of development, conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Our projects are led by experienced conservationists and development workers; they are based on communities’ expressed needs and therefore provide an insight for volunteers into real on-the-ground work – they are not set up simply for volunteers. Volunteers will work on an extensive array of projects from monitoring turtle activity on loggerhead nesting beaches to the building of wells in remote villages.
Azafady’s conservation-based projects have been endorsed by, among others, Sir David Attenborough and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, while for our Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative we recently received the Sting and Trudie Styler Award, one of the coveted Whitley Awards for conservation.
For further information on Azafady please visit our website on
http://www.madagascar.co.uk and for more details on the Pioneer Madagascar volunteer programme (and application forms) go to the same website and follow the connections for Volunteering. Any questions can be directed to Mark Jacobs (Projects Director) Azafady Studio 7, 1a Beethoven Street, London W10 4LG Telephone +44 (0) 20 8960 6629 Fax +44 (0) 20 8962 0126 Email mark@azafady.org”
