Supporting the Lovasoa school in Antsirabé, Madagascar

In Antsirabé, on the high plateaux of Madagascar, Helping Hands is continuing its commitment to the Lovasoa school. This project, which was born out of a human encounter and a deep-rooted local need, aims to provide children from the most disadvantaged families with a stable school environment, regular meals and a chance to learn with dignity.

Since 2015, Helping Hands has been working hand in hand with the local education team to strengthen the foundations of education accessible to all. Today, the priority is clear: to support the canteen, teachers and school supplies, so that this school can continue to exist despite the economic difficulties.

A context of precariousness and hope

Antsirabé is a mountain town where poverty is still very much alive. In the outlying areas, many parents work on a day-to-day basis: selling vegetables, pulling rickshaws, washing other people's clothes or doing odd jobs on the farm. Income is irregular and often insufficient to provide a daily meal.

In these conditions, sending a child to school becomes a luxury. Some children eat only once a day. Others come to class having eaten nothing since the day before. It is in response to this reality that Zoeline, Lovasoa, a teacher, founded the Lovasoa school with the help of other volunteer teachers, with the aim of offering a place of learning, but also a place of kindness and comfort.

«We created this school so that children from the poorest families could learn, feed themselves and hope for a better future.»
- Zoeline, founder of the Lovasoa school

A lasting partnership between Helping Hands and Lovasoa

Ever since I first met Zoeline, Helping Hands supports the school on an ongoing basis: supplies, canteen, teachers' salaries, odd jobs, pupil monitoring... each aid corresponds to a real need identified on the spot.

Every year, the donations collected in France help :

Thanks to this collaboration, the Lovasoa school is now home to several dozen children who, without this initiative, would have been left to fend for themselves.

The food emergency: strengthening the school canteen

The first emergency in Antsirabé remains malnutrition.

Today, children benefit from two meals a week, Thanks to donations from individuals and occasional support from Helping Hands. But the goal is to reach four meals a week to avoid absences, fatigue and delays in learning.

Each complete meal - rice, vegetables, eggs or a little meat - costs less than a euro, but changes a child's day. When the canteen is running, the children arrive happier, participate more and stay focused until the end of lessons.

«When the meals are here, the children arrive at dawn with smiles on their faces.»
- Zoeline

Helping the canteen means providing food, health and motivation.

Supporting teachers: the key to continuity

The Lovasoa school relies on three dedicated teachers, who teach several grades at the same time. Their salaries are precarious and irregular, often well below the subsistence minimum. Yet they count neither their hours nor their efforts in teaching the children the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.

Helping Hands wants to guarantee regular income to each teacher, to stabilise classes and maintain the quality of teaching. This support is essential: without paid teachers, classes would grind to a halt and all the work accomplished over the years would be lost.

School supplies and dignity

Every new school year is a challenge for families. Notebooks, pencils, slates, school bags, uniforms: all these expenses are impossible to meet. Every year, Helping Hands funds complete school kits, This means that every student has the bare essentials.

Beyond the material, these supplies symbolise dignity and equality. They give children the feeling of belonging to a real school, of having their place in the classroom, just like the others.

Towards independence: henhouse and vegetable garden

Helping Hands does not want to be permanently dependent on donations. That's why two local initiatives have been launched:

The medium-term objective is for the Lovasoa school to become partially self-sufficient by 2026, by combining external solidarity and local resources.

Testimonies from the field

«I come to school because here I can eat and learn to read.» - Anja, 8 years old

«Thanks to the help of Helping Hands, we have been able to reopen the canteen and buy exercise books for all the children.» - Zoeline, teacher

These words are a reminder that every donation, however small, has an immediate impact.

Priorities for 2025

Each objective is measurable, monitored and communicated publicly on our Transparency.

How to take part

Your help can transform a child's life.

💡 Donations are eligible for a tax reduction of 75 % up to a limit of €1,000 per year (French law).

Follow the project

Helping Hands regularly publishes news and photos on its social networks and in the Lovasoa School news.