This summer I will be spending 3 weeks working with SEED in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar to help build a much needed school.

In the Anosy Region, where SEED Madagascar works, children don't have much chance of completing primary school. In fact, half of all school aged children have never even been to primary school, let alone graduated or attended middle or high school. State funding for education has dropped by 86% in the years since the political crisis (2009) and as a result, government-provided infrastructure has been severely limited, the number of paid teachers has declined, and teacher training is now almost non-existent.

Many villages do not have their own school so children can walk up to 20 km a day to access education in the nearby communities. SEEDhave built and repaired over 30 schools and constructed over 2000 benches using sustainable timber.

Communities have limited access to toilets and clean running water. In Fort Dauphin as many as 30 families share a toilet facility and there is a lack of education surrounding health and hygiene. The charity aims to work with the local government to evaluate and prioritise communities most in need. They build wells which provide clean water as well as pit latrines and hand washing facilities which have a direct impact on the health of local families.

To help raise money I will be running the Manchester half marathon in May and will be training as much as I can over the next few weeks in the build up to the event.

The work SEED does is very important for giving young children every chance to do well in life and I hope my work will help achieve this goal.

More information about SEED and the other work they do can be found at the link below

https://madagascar.co.uk/

Thank you.