This is the schools toilet block. Forgive the image, but this is the reality facing 100 students and, before you read on, please be aware that Madagascar is considered to one of the poorest countries in the World. Having been there twice, I can attest to this. Many people survive on £1 per day to feed families.

100% of funds donated go towards helping The English Centre of Fort Dauphin (minus 5% commission from this site). I take nothing. My expenses , airfares, etcetera, are from my own funds and accounts are freely available.

The English centre of Fort Dauphin (South East Madagascar) was set up 8 years ago by Fabrice Nomejanahary (pictured outside the school). He is a fluent English speaker and had a desire to teach locals in this isolated town, the English language, realising that having English language skills gives people a huge advantage to further their lives in today's modern world. He started with a handful of students 8 years ago. From renting a single room to renting the school building in 8 years, using only the small tuition fees shows his dedication. There are now over 100 students at the school paying £2.50 per month for full time, 6 days per week lessons. It is a remarkable achievement on his part. I volunteered as a teacher and was accepted as the first native speaker to work there. I consider it a privilege.

The school itself is a decent building but it has no funds whatsoever other than fees, which are used to pay rental and utilities. When I arrived, there was 1 whiteboard to write on so, I raised some funds privately and between myself and my friend's modest contributions, we raised enough for 4 new white boards (see pic for 2 of them being put to good use) and 5 water filters. The water needs to be carted in from distance and used to have to be boiled before drinking, so the filters have made a difference, affording 1 litre of clean drinking water for each student every day. Fabrice could not quite believe this, stating, "We have had lots of people come here and promise this and that (including the American Ambassador for Madagascar) and we never hear from them again. You are the first people to actually help us."

The school has 3 main issues, for which I hope to raise funds for.

First, due to the complete lack of civic infrastructure, the toilets (in almost all of Fort Dauphin) are very primitive, to the point of being health hazards. The picture illustrates the case. They are unusable, in effect. I wish to construct a compostible toilet block at the back of the school. Something that will last for decades and be a pleasant place to go about the bodily functions. Something that we in less primitive conditions take for granted.

Second, the school needs internet services. It is expensive as the school is adjudged (despite it being a charity) to be a commercial concern and thus the fee is £200 for initial installation and then £80 per month thereafter. The thing about the internet is that, once installed, it has potential to raise some funds operating as a local internet cafe and perhaps operating as a cinema. There are precious few amenities in Fort Dauphin at present. It would also open the school to interaction between other schools in other places and countries, thus opening huge potential for educating the students.Having internet makes teaching so much easier and less consumptive of materials.

Third, a mains water supply will alleviate a lot of work and also open possibilities to operate a "Social Bite" type of cafe/restaurant. This could work very well as the school is located less than 50 metres from the local football stadium which regularly has crowds of 2,000 people and occasionally much more.

This school has, with a little outside help and guidance, tremendous potential to have a huge impact on Fort Dauphin and , perhaps, beyond. I want to, on my return from Scotland, instigate a bi-lingual newspaper (Fort Dauphin has no newspapers), a radio show mainly in English and a publication company, specialising in Malagasy/English translations, mainly for educational purposes, beginning with a Malagasy/English dictionary/phrase book. One exists but, it is pretty rubbish and with very poor translation. We shall aim for excellence!

If you have any old but functioning tablets/laptops/notebooks/USB sticks, please get in touch and , within the UK, I can try to arrange pick-up of them and transportation to Madagascar.

So that is the base case for the funds raising. If you need more information , contact me personally by email: chiquay@hotmail.com.

Small direct debits are most greatly appreciated as this will help pay for the monthly internet fees. Let me know who you are also.

Join and follow our Facebook page, "Friends of The Scottish Project in Madagascar". Also, importantly,if you wish to volunteer or get a school involved, email me. The opportunity of a lifetime , not only to help and empower people, but to have a fantastic time in a wonderful part of the planet.

Thanking you in advance,

John-Angus Morrison