Category: Madagascar

Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound
Oct 28 2017

The gift of accompaniment carries us forward

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Regina Mburu and sponsored elder Michel in Madagascar.
Sponsored elder Michel from Madagascar.

By Regina Mburu, Unbound’s communications liaison for Africa

Visiting Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, I felt the refreshing breeze of renewed energy and excitement blowing my way.

Madagascar is located off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. I was a bit nervous about the weather because the last time I visited, which was four years ago, there was a day that was so chilly I had to ask for extra blankets from the hotel where I was staying. It was a pleasant welcome when I arrived to see a brilliant blue sky and feel the sun’s rays cast their glow on my skin.

My colleagues from our program in Madagascar were waiting for me at the airport. As it is often said, a radiant smile is the universal sign of welcome. I felt welcomed.
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Liva Rajaonarisina, program coordinator in Antsirabe, Madagascar presents at Unbound's Global Insight Series on March 29 in Kansas City.
Economic Self-Sufficiency, Get involved, Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend
Apr 12 2017

‘Closer and closer to the families’

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Liva Rajaonarisina, program coordinator in Antsirabe, Madagascar presents at Unbound's Global Insight Series on March 29 in Kansas City.

Liva Rajaonarisina, program coordinator in Antsirabe, Madagascar presents at Unbound’s Global Insight Series on March 29 in Kansas City.

Liva Rajaonarisina is Unbound’s program coordinator in Antsirabe, Madagascar. With experience working in mission work, translation and employee training, Liva has worked for Unbound as program coordinator since 2008.

Unbound has 37 projects in the 19 countries where we work. The projects serve as regional hubs in areas where sponsored members live, and are the coordinating centers for community-based programs that span the area. Each of these hubs is led by a coordinator who helps guide and manage the Unbound program in that area.

At both Unbound’s Global Insight Series on March 29 and at an employee-wide presentation the next day, Liva shared about the benefits of sponsorship in Madagascar. Benefits are distributed in two primary and effective ways — cash distribution and a livelihood program called “Market Market.”

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The three project coordinators speaking on a panel.
Get involved, India, Madagascar, Philippines
Apr 3 2017

Global Insight Series features staff from Africa and Asia

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The three project coordinators speaking on a panel.

The inaugural edition of the Unbound Global Insight Series March 29 at our headquarters in Kansas City unfolded as an evening of discovery, an opportunity to listen and learn from three program coordinators visiting from India, Madagascar and the Philippines.

Saritha Mendanha, Liva Rajaonarisina and Risa Vereña shared insights on our programs and the innovative ways that sponsorship provides opportunities for families around the world.

Unbound has 37 projects in the 19 countries where we work. The projects serve as regional hubs in areas where sponsored members live, and are the coordinating centers for community-based programs that span the area.

Each of these hubs is led by a coordinator who helps guide and manage the Unbound program in that area. Unbound’s co-founder Bob Hentzen once described these staff members as “saints with talent.” Those attending last Wednesday’s event got a glimpse of what Bob meant.

Read on for a photo essay depicting the event, and stay tuned next week for three more blog posts on topics presented by Saritha, Liva and Risa. What they shared reflects the program innovations in their countries and shows that their work holds true to one of our most important organizational values — that we, as sponsors and staff, are students of the families we accompany in overcoming poverty.

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Malagasy children sing "Silent Night."
Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Dec 23 2016

Merry Christmas from Unbound!

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Everyone here at Unbound, in Kansas City and around the world, wants to wish a very merry Christmas and happy holidays to our sponsors, donors and everyone who has supported us over the past 35 years.

Please enjoy this video of sponsored children from Madagascar singing “Silent Night” in Malagasy.

Kintana Telo drum.
Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Unbound, Voices of Unbound
Mar 25 2016

Unbound families share their talents through song

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Voices of Unbound: Madagascar
In 2014 several groups of musicians from our Antsirabe program in Madagascar were invited to record their music for the first Voices of Unbound CD. The Voices of Unbound: Madagascar CD was created to celebrate the talent and culture of our Unbound community while increasing awareness of the Unbound program. Below, Rovah, a staff member from our Antsirabe office, and Lydia, a mothers group member and musician, share their stories of participating in the music project. You can listen to the recordings online at unbound.org/music.
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The enclosure the family built to keep their pigs.
Africa, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Feb 19 2016

Getting ahead through careful saving

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Sarobidy helps take care of his family's farm animals.

Sarobidy helps take care of his family’s farm animals.

Just four years ago Sarobidy’s family was struggling to survive, living in a small wooden house in Madagascar on the little income his mother, Hasiniaina, made doing laundry and selling vegetables and firewood. His father, Léon, wasn’t able to find work.

Sarobidy attended an inexpensive local school, though the quality of the education wasn’t very good. Though the tuition only cost about $2.50 USD per month, the expense took a toll on the family’s budget.

“We were afraid to borrow money,” Hasiniaina said. “There were many times that we didn’t have food, but there was no one to help.”

Then in March of 2012, Sarobidy was sponsored through Unbound by Paul and Maureen from Ohio, and his family was able to start turning their situation around.

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Making Christmas cards.
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Sponsor a child, Unbound
Dec 21 2015

Cards full of love

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Every year, sponsored friends of all ages gather to make Christmas cards to send their love and holiday wishes to their sponsors. Check out these photos to get a glimpse at the work that goes into making the Christmas cards.

A sponsored girl in Costa Rica looks at the card she made.
Sponsored elders make Christmas cards in Costa Rica.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Madagascar.
Christmas cards drawn by sponsored children in Madagascar.
Sponsored elders make Christmas cards in Ecuador.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Nicaragua.
Sponsored elders make Christmas cards in Ecuador.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Guatemala.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Honduras.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Madagascar.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Honduras.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Honduras.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Madagascar.
Sponsored children make Christmas cards in Nicaragua.

Send your sponsored friend a Christmas greeting today!

Sponsored children and their classmates in Uganda.
Africa, Education, Kenya, Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Tanzania, Uganda, Unbound
Jun 15 2015

The Day of the African Child

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Sponsored children and their classmates in Uganda.

Sponsored children and their classmates in Uganda.

On June 16, 1976, more than 100 students in Soweto, South Africa, were shot and killed and thousands were injured after a protest for equal and quality education for all children.

Tomorrow, June 16, is the Day of the African Child. This day has been celebrated every year since 1991 in memory of those who participated in the Soweto protest and to raise awareness for the continued improvement of Africa’s educational systems.

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Dan talks with Unbound friends and their families.
About our program, Africa, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Kenya, Madagascar, Sponsor a child, Sponsor an aging friend, Tanzania, Uganda
May 22 2015

A gift for Africa Day

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Dan gives a fist bump to a young girl outside the Unbound office.

Dan gives a fist bump to a young girl outside the Unbound office near Kibera slum in Kenya.


By Dan Pearson, Director of International Programs

What’s the best gift for a continent? May 25 is Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the founding of the Organization of African Unity. But don’t worry if you haven’t gotten Africa a gift yet. The day hasn’t really caught on in the U.S. like other celebrations of international origin such as St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo, but that may change.

The mental maps of many Americans are pretty blank when it comes to Africa, and the topics we associate with the continent are mostly negative: slavery, poverty, starvation, dictators and war. It’s true that Africa’s history is deeply marked by suffering, mostly at the hands of outsiders but also self-inflicted. Modern Africa is changing rapidly, and it is time we all took note.


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Nursing school
Africa, Education, Get involved, Madagascar, Sponsor a child
Dec 17 2014

‘No Place for Lazy People’

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Nursing school

Yollande is completing her training as a nurse at a local health center in Madagascar.

By Barclay Martin, new channels coordinator for Unbound

Sitting in the home of Yollande and her mother, Jeanne, I was given a beautiful glimpse of human potential. In a place where homes are commonly assembled with humble and often salvaged materials, their home is simple, but stately. When I commented on how lovely it felt to be in their home, Jeanne replied, “We have built our life one step at a time, including this house.”

Yollande is 21 and has been raised alongside her siblings in their neighborhood on the outskirts of Antsirabe, Madagascar. Their neighborhood’s name translates to “No Place for Lazy People.”

Welcome to Tsiratrinikamo.

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