Zahana: Accomplishments and Results

Note:

This page was created in 2010, when floating images on the webpage where the coolest thing after sliced bread... Nowadays widges are very common and we hav estopped updating this webpage and started exploring altenatives to good old Dreamweaver we used to create this website (March 2024.)

The Nov. 2010 Zahana report illustrates our definition of “success” quite drastically: Our Zahana teacher, reported that since he has been living in Fiadanana no death of child was reported. The only death in the village was a woman who had surgery in the hospital of Tsiroanomandidy for appendicitis some 2 months ago. Berthine, a member of the women’s group, confirmed that before Zahana in the “hard times period” (époque dure) between October to December it felt like almost every day one child passed away from diarrhea. (She said 26 deaths in 2 months.) She explained that people from Fiadanana now have to carry their water with them if they have to go to another village, since their stomach didn’t feel well drinking the water from the other villages.”

Note: This is still the case in June 2019! Fortunately no child died since 2006, the first year the village had access to clean, safe water.

In Fiadanana where they got the safe drinking water since 2006 through seven communal faucets the impact is tremendous. A key reason why we found teachers willing to move to the village of Fiadanana was the availability of clean safe drinking water. It is the only village in the area that can make such a claim. (More in our November Newsletter.)

Background: In 2006 the community of Fiadanana built their own water system with the help from Zahana. Zahana hired the water experts, who living in the village for two months, taught the villager how to lay pipe from a ground well in the mountains over a mile away. Seven communal faucets provide clean, safe water to everybody all year round all over the village ever since.

In 2010 we assess the work done in the last 6 years on a shoestring budget. Sometimes we get the question: "how do you measure success?"�  This is a question often driven by the thought of accountability for the money spent, focusing on dollars instead of social impact.  It is hard to determine, or prove in hard numbers, if the mosquito nets at the cost of a few dollars have avoided any malaria cases and therefore enabled people to harvest their rice instead of spending time in bed.

BUILDING

All 56 children in the village now can go to school where they live. More: school in Fiarenana

SCHOOL FIADANANA: Over 150 children in now go to school taught by two teachers. Before 2006 there has never been a school in the village and none of the children attended school regularly. More: school Fiadanana

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLEAN WATER IN FIADANANA: 1000 people have access to clean, safe drinking water in Fiadanana since 2006. A community built and community owned water system, from the spring in the mountains to the village, provides water with seven communal faucets throughout the village. MORE

CLEAN WATER FOR FIARENANA:

286 villagers now have clean water through a completely rebuilt community well in Fiadanana. More: water for Fiarenana

 

 

 

 

 

 

A COMMUNAL GRAIN STORAGE BUILDING IN FIADANANA for all village farmers to store the rice and corn after the harvest safely for the first time. MORE


A COMMUNAL GRAIN STORAGE FOR FIARENANA: The community made the bricks for a communal grain or rice storage building. Zahana provided the corrugate roofing iron, one door, two windows and the cement for the floor and walls. in use by the community since the rice harvest of 2009. More

 

MOSQUITO NETS: At first, the villagers asked Zahana for medication to treat malaria. Zahana decided preventing malaria in the first place using a comprehensive public health approach was a better way. 106 mosquito nets were distributed in Fiadanana in 2006. More

 

Building metal fences to protect the communal water faucets

MOSQUITO NETS: All households received mosquito nets in Fiarenana. Mosquito nets can prevent getting malaria in the first place. As most families sleep in one bed, all women and children are coved. More

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building a school for Fiarenana is a community wide effort. Everybody, from the small children to the parents participated in making this happen. Carrying the bricks across the hill and building the building the school brick by brick. More

The need to reduce the need for firewood is more immediate. To address this Zahana developed and promoted an improved cookstove that can be built in a few hours with a few bricks and mud. In the rainy season solar cooking is not a viable option and the improved cookstove, in tandem with reforestation efforts, is a practical immediate solution. More

Microcredit a "true seed fund". Creating a dedicated seed fund for micro-enterprise projects. Initiated and implemented by the villagers, with support from Zahana, it makes a huge difference overcoming the grip of object poverty. More

Zahana was invited to participate in National Geographics (yes, the iconic yellow magazine) Explorers -Take Action. With the reach of National Geographic, this is tremendous opportunity for Zahana. Please visit the Global Action Atlas though our website