Madagascar Update
In 2008 Avonbrook made two grants to Akany Avoko, one to fund a new childcare centre and another to cover the salaries of two classrrom teachers. Simon Kirby - the Project Development Manager at Akany Avoko Children's Home - provided Avonbrook with a report on how these grants have helped them in their work. An extract from Simon's report is below. Avonbrook continues to support Akany Avoko, with a further grant in 2009 to fund the two teachers.
The intervention of Avonbrook Projects Abroad has made an enormous difference to the quality of education that Akany Avoko is able to offer to its youngest residents.
Thanks to the support of the salaries of two primary school teachers Akany Avoko was able to record for the fourth consecutive year, a 100% pass rate for students sitting their secondary school entrance exams. When one considers that many of these children had been deprived of education for years of their childhood this is an incredible achievement on their part. Of all the activities taking place at Akany Avoko the primary and pre-school classes remain those of which we are most proud. Alongside the other four teachers employed by the school the two Avonbrook sponsored teachers oversaw the education of sixty children in the academic year 2008-09.
In the new childcare centre extension daily pre-school lessons have taken place throughout the year, giving our smallest children a head-start in literacy, numeracy, art and structured play. In 2008 -9 pre-school class size was 15, and the number of beneficiaries will rise in the 2009-2010 term to 17. At the end of this year’s pre-school education programme nine children were able to move up to begin their primary education at Akany Avoko’s on-site school.