January 2020

Our volunteers and programs came to an unfortunate halt this past week. A tropical storm passed over, which made way for an unusual week. Due to poor visibility and high swells our marine volunteers were unable to dive. The turtle conservation volunteers didn’t get to do their active turtle surveys. The muddy and slippery trails meant no hiking for the forest volunteers. Teaching and community volunteers were confined to Turtle Cove Camp, as boat rides and hiking to Ampang became too risky.

Wet season is no joke, and we take all of the necessary precautions to ensure everyone’s safety. Despite everything, the positive energy displayed by our volunteers shined through and saved the week. Vibrant new volunteers gave it their all and carried out beach cleans, strengthened their species knowledge through games and lectures, countless bamboo straws and eco brick were also made!

The most significant event of the week was by far our beach clean. We had volunteers from all programs join in and take part. It is the middle of turtle nesting season, and although we have been eagerly awaiting any sign of turtle activity, we’ve received no indication of turtles nesting. So, when we came to find a beach littered with about fifty eggs, it was equally devastating and exciting. Turtle Conservation Manager, Russel, was part of the beach clean-up crew. He was able to offer valuable insights into what had occurred and what it meant for the baby turtles.

Unfortunately, due to the fragility of turtle nests (or clutches), the beached turtle embryos had no chance of survival. Two important and sensitive factors when turtle eggs are laid in their nest would be their orientation within and temperature. These factors ultimately affecting their survival. The harsh storm and exposure on the beach meant that there was no chance of survival for the turtle eggs that we had found. Russel opened a turtle egg and talked everyone through turtle development.

Although a sad experience, our volunteers found it very informative and left with a greater understanding of the many challenges that these animals face. We left our beach as clean as possible and continued our clean ups as much as we could throughout the rest of the week. The energy of our volunteers is unparalleled and we wouldn’t be anything close to what we are without them.

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12/2019
Margot Lootens

A Dream Comes to Life

The Nosy Be Disability Centre Dream began in 2016, when Nathan Stapley came to Nosy Be for the very first time, as a volunteer. He is originally from the UK and is a trained disabilities teacher. When he first came here he was struck by the lack of accommodation for and adaptation to people with disabilities. What he found was that life in Madagascar and definitely here on the islands of Nosy Be and Nosy Komba is not adapted to people with disabilities. For example roads, pathways and buildings are generally not accessible for people in wheelchair. And as there are no medical or educational facilities for people with disabilities on the island, entire families are affected by this issue. Mainly mothers and siblings are burdened with the constant care for their disabled children or siblings. Therefor, they cannot go to work or school, which marginalizes these families and pushes them further into poverty.

During his stay Nathan soon made friends with some locals and got to talking about the issues he saw. One of them was Gisèle’s grandson. Gisèle is a retired senior researcher at CNRO. Generous and loving as she is, Gisèle invited Nathan over to her place. There, Nathan’s concern with the disabled children on Nosy Be came up in the conversation. Gisèle told him that she has seen how it weighs on the children, their parents and siblings as she herself has a child with disabilities in her extended family. She shares Nathan’s concern with the lack of infrastructure for the disabled on the island. So, the seed for the project was planted within them both in her living room.

Upon return, Nathan took action in establishing Sunrise Madagascar as a local NGO which focusses its actions and investments in giving opportunities for people with disabilities on Nosy Be. They also got Lalaine abroad. Lalaine is native Malagasy just like Gisèle, is fluent in English and has experience in working with both international volunteers and people with disabilities. While Nathan was busy fundraising for their project in the UK, Gisèle had laid eyes on a building which could be reconverted into a disability centre near her former work place.

It is only later that MRCI got involved in the project. As local involvement is one of the pillars of our organisation, it was not hard to get everyone on board for this big adventure. With the collaboration, we are able to not only support Nathan’s and Gisèle’s dream, but also to improve it to reach more families. Instead of buying and reconverting the building Gisèle had recruited, MRCI offered to buy an 800 square meter plot of land in a far more accessible location and take charge in constructing a building completely adapted to people with disabilities. Think about slopes instead of steps, bigger door openings and sufficient space to move around with a wheelchair.

And this is where we are at now: MRCI has acquired the land and is currently sitting around the table with an architect specialized in designing healthcare facilities around the world.

Stay tuned for our next post to hear about Nathan’s and Gisèle’s story behind this beautiful initiative. Follow MRCI and Sunrise Madagascar to keep updated on their Nosy Be Disability Centre Dream!

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6/12/2019
Margot Lootens

 

A Big Community Project for 2020

We are excited to announce that we will be collaborating with Sunrise Madagascar to construct and develop the first ever disability centre on Nosy Be! Our MRCI Community Development Volunteers will be actively involved in the construction process, working together with local craftsmen.

Two years ago, Nathan Stapley came up with the idea to build the Nosy Be Disability Centre. After developing the idea further with Gisèle, a retired senior researcher at CNRO on Nosy Be, and Lalaine who has experience in working with people with disabilities, they got in touch with David, the owner of our organization. Immediately, he was convinced that this project was worthy of our support. Nathan, Gisèle, Lalaine and David decided to work out as to what extend MRCI could support the project. This resulted in the current collaboration where MRCI will be responsible for acquiring suitable land and the construction of the building. In return, a local NGO named Sunrise Madagascar was set up to operate the disability centre. On 22 November 2019, the agreement between Sunrise Madagascar and MRCI was signed.

Over the past months we have collected all donations, profits from our merchandise, tuck & drinks monies, washing and weekend trips to be able to buy a suitable plot of land for the construction of the Nosy Be Disability Centre. Apart from acquiring the land, MRCI will also pay the architect and professional constructors and will provide all material for the construction of the building. Furthermore, the construction of the disability centre will be the biggest project for our Community Development Program.

As mentioned before, Sunrise Madagascar will be responsible for the operation of the Nosy Be Disability Centre once it up and running. MRCI volunteers with relevant experience might get the chance to work with the children at the centre as well. The Nosy Be Disability Centre will work with disabled children and their families, educating and offering assistance on how to live with disabilities in an unadapted environment like Nosy Be. We are confident that this project will make a tremendous impact on the children and their families and will open a window of opportunity to a brighter future for them all!

Stay tuned for our next post to hear about Nathan’s and Gisèle’s story behind this beautiful initiative. Follow MRCI and Sunrise Madagascar to keep updated on the Nosy Be Disability Centre!

Learn More About Our Community Development Program

 

18/10/2019
Margot Lootens

The Parking Lot in our MPA

About a year ago we started the construction of our sixth artificial reef named “the Parking Lot”. We bought three broken-down cars on Nosy Be and sunk them in the sea a few hundred meters in front of our beach. The metal frame of an old car forms a perfect base to create an interesting artificial reef which provides shelter and food for a variety of marine species, from corals and sea urchins to endemic fish and enormous jellyfish.

Already after a few months the metal frames were covered in algae, providing a base for coral to attach to the cars as well, in turn attracting a bigger variety of species to the reef. The Parking Lot has become an interesting site for our mariners to survey and, even more importantly, it contributes to the reconstruction and expansion of the reef out here in front of our beach.

Because of the success of this initiative, we recently decided to extend the Parking Lot. We managed to purchase three more broken-down cars in Hell-Ville. Placing the cars into the water was an entire operation, demanding some helping hands from both volunteers and staff members. Fortunately, this time we could use our boat, the Spirit of Malala, to transport the cars to the reef which made the operation a lot easier in comparison to a year ago when we had to keep them afloat with makeshift buoys.

The first car arrived on Friday afternoon. About ten volunteers got on board the Malala to lift and drop the car into the ocean while three of our marine staff members were in the water to guarantee the proper placement of the car on the bottom of the sea. Saturday morning two more cars arrived and were placed alongside the other cars to complete the Parking Lot. For now, we have to let nature do its work. Hopefully in a few months’ time we can start to attach coral to the frames and the reef can continue to expand.

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18/10/2019
Margot Lootens

 

Fundraiser for Single Mother Stall Owner

A fundraiser was recently held as one of the stalls at the lemur park in Ampang caught fire and was destroyed. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to destroy parts of the forest and no people or lemurs were injured. However, the owner of the stall, a single mother, lost all her merchandise which was her entire livelihood. By Monday, the news of the fire had reached camp. Concerned about the woman and her children, we decided to plan a fundraiser to collect money to help rebuild the woman’s stall and get her and her family back on their feet.

So, on Thursday we organized a big barbecue for all volunteers and staff members. Our kitchen ladies, some of the volunteers and staff members all worked together to prepare a delicious lunch with fresh caught fish, zebu brochettes, coconut rice and veggies.

We also managed to get some of the villagers of Ampang and guys from the lemur park to join us and play a game of soccer against the volunteers. In the burning sun at noon, they gave their all. Both teams were unstoppable! Even though both teams played to win, the atmosphere was amazing and the team spirit was high. Afterwards some of the players joined us for the barbecue. So, the fundraiser was not only a great way to raise money, but also for everyday to get to know each other a little better.

The fundraiser turned out to be a great success. Participation to the barbecue and soccer game was optional, but eventually almost all volunteers participated, which we are very grateful for. We are really happy we got to engage with the local community and spend the entire afternoon playing soccer, getting to know each other etc. But eventually the goal was still to raise money for the woman who lost her shop in the lemur park. We managed to raise a considerable amount of money with this initiative and we hope to can assist her in rebuilding her stall.

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