SIX WEEKS TO GO: HOW MUCH CAN ONE GET IN ONE'S BACKPACK?

In the past week, I have read my survival guide from front to back and I am starting to get down to the nitty gritty and thinking about what to take to Madagascar.  I have a list (one of many) and it is very, very long.  I am not sure how on earth the listed items will all fit into one backpack, let alone when you factor in a few kilos of kit Azafady needs to get down to Fort Dauphin.

I was given a journal for Christmas by my parents and have started writing in the important things: blood type, travel insurance details, emergency contacts…  I have also got in touch with my fellow Pioneers, so it is all getting quite real and exciting.

                                                                                                                                   

The population in Madagascar is 19.1 million, and is projected to double every 15-20 years.  This links back directly to the people's abject poverty.  Madagascar’s national debt is $2.054 billion. Although a considerable amount (roughly 50%) of Madagascar's debt has been written off since 2004, prevailing debt repayments of more than $50 million a year mean that only very small amounts of government funds are channelled into health and education spending.

Hence, organisations such as the World Bank and IMF are relying on organisations such as Azafady to provide health care and education. Unfortunately many of the larger charities, such as War on Want, Christian Aid and Oxfam do not work in Madagascar.

Your donation will be put to good use, so please give what you can spare and spread the message by sharing this blog with your contacts.

SEVEN WEEKS TO GO: INSURANCE, DOCTORS AND DFAT

The deadline for raising my minimum donation has been confirmed as 16 December, so if you have been meaning to make a donation, now is the time.  For those in or around Reading, I will also be selling raffle tickets and have some really cute Christmas cards – featuring lemurs! – that could be exchanged for a donation.

In the past week, I:

• sorted my travel insurance;
• got around to making an appointment with a travel doctor which I realize, in hindsight, should have been the first thing I did.  Whoops.  I have also been pricing the malaria prophylaxis and all I can say is I wish I was selling it.  My goodness;
• registered with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  Granted it has been 4 years since I left Australia, but as they say, better late than never and given I will be in Madagascar during cyclone season, it seemed timely.

 The island is regularly hit by the same cyclones that hit Mozambique but it never gets the same media attention. 

Madagascar has suffered around 90% deforestation (estimated by Conservation International) and tragically, the majority of the island’s unique plants and animals are forest dependent and therefore greatly affected.

Azafady has been voted president for the Regional Committee of the Environment in

Madagascar, advising the government on matters of environmental consequence for an

area the size of England.

If you would like to learn more about Azafady and the Pioneer program, follow this link and watch a video or two: http://www.youtube.com/user/AzafadyMadagascar

EIGHT WEEKS TO GO: FOOD AND FITNESS

The fundraising pot continues to move in the right direction (up), so keep those monies rolling in.  If you are wondering where the money is going, I’ll be covering the cost of my flights, insurance, immunizations, visa and so on.  I will also be taking my own tent which will be my home for the majority of my time in Madagascar.

Currently Azafady as a charity spends about 90% of its total income in pursuit of its charitable aims. Only a very low 10% goes on administration costs.  Presently 100% of Pioneers' donations go straight out to Madagascar to run both the organisation and the projects of which I will be a part.  Roughly 10% will be used to cover project costs such as food and transport, so that equates to about £200, or less than £3 a day during my time as a Pioneer.  

I have been forewarned that the menu will consist of rice and beans, rice and beans, rice and beans and so on.  My parents who know that I love my food and dining out (even if they cannot quite understand the level of my devotion) do have some concerns about how I will cope.  I on the other hand look at it as enforced dieting to lose the stone I have gained in the UK – a work hazard from spending the last 18 months or so tied to a desk with a never ending bounty of biscuits within arm’s reach.

I have also been ramping up my gym attendance (from nil to twice a week – I have to start somewhere) to ensure I am fit enough to do whatever is required in Madagascar, be it planting trees, building schools, solving health and sanitation issues and working with the local communities to tackle problems they have brought to Azafady’s attention.  I suspect the whole experience will be like boot camp, and I will be much fitter when my time as a Pioneer is over.

It ain't going to be easy, but it will be worth it to do my bit for Madagascar. There are more orchids on the island than on the whole continent of Africa and 5 of the 6 sea turtle species in the world are found in its waters.

NINE WEEKS TO GO: MY FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED

My first week of fundraising has gone really well with £510 raised (just over 25% of my target) so a huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far.  For everyone else, remember every penny (or cent) counts so please get cracking by clicking on that link to the right.  Profile raising is every bit as important as fundraising, so if you are not in a position to donate money, please think about donating your contacts by emailing the URL for this blog to everyone you know, or by sharing this blog on your Facebook page.

You can be confident your donation will be put to good use.

Azafady has received endorsements from both Sir David Attenborough and The Duke Primate Institute for its efforts in the field of conservation. It has also received a Whitley Foundation award for human rights and conservation, given to it by HRH Princess Anne.

Madagascar is a special place, an island twice the size of Britain and the only natural home of lemurs and the rosy periwinkle (an effective cure for childhood leukaemia).  Who knows what else is still to be discovered…

I am certainly looking forward so seeing a few of those lemurs in their natural habitat and have had a busy week booking my flights and raiding the last of the camping store sales racks for cotton shirts and “mosquito resistant” clothing – although I am curious to see how a knee length dress will stop the mozzies feasting on my delicious ankles.  I am seriously considering wearing hiking boots and knee high socks for the full duration of my three month stay.

In the past week, I was also delighted to say hello to November and good bye to Ocsober!  This was celebrated in a surprisingly civilized manner by a drink at my local (I had to have a Guinness as shockingly it was out of real ale) followed by some lovely white wine and a meal at Loch Fyne.

I have also started a “to do” list of all items I need to buy and things I need to do in the next nine weeks.  It is shaping up to be a very long list so I had better get back to it.