blue ventures community open day
post by allana
This Saturday was very exciting for the community of Andavadoaka, because BV had their annual Open Day. This years Open Day started with a big parade through the village with everyone taking part. BV commandeered a ute, put some huge speakers on the back and blasted the crowd with Malagasy music. Caroline donned the well-worn Blue-striped Snapper costume and fish-danced on the back of the ute with Erika holding onto her for dear life. Little kids waved colourful balloons and the atmosphere was buzzing; we breathed in clouds of dust and sand as hundreds of feet marched and danced along the little streets of Andava. The thing is though, when your parade involves pretty much everyone from the whole village, there isn’t really anyone left to watch your parade. So a lot of the time we were waving and smiling to ourselves, rather than at an enraptured audience.
Staff Kate had the great idea of doing a human fish-transect on the beach, to give the kids an idea of what it is exactly we do when we go on all these dives. So we all prepared amazing fish drawings which we taped to our shirts and ran up and down a transect line with the kids chasing after us trying to identify which fish we were trying to be. It definitely was lots of fun, but I fear the message the kids got was that foreigners are absolutely crazy, and not so much was learned about fish survey methodology.
Staff Kate had the great idea of doing a human fish-transect on the beach, to give the kids an idea of what it is exactly we do when we go on all these dives. So we all prepared amazing fish drawings which we taped to our shirts and ran up and down a transect line with the kids chasing after us trying to identify which fish we were trying to be. It definitely was lots of fun, but I fear the message the kids got was that foreigners are absolutely crazy, and not so much was learned about fish survey methodology.
Scott was very keen to take part in what was probably the most fun activity, dunking little children in big barrels of water. This was hugely popular with the kids who all wanted to see what it is like to breathe underwater. We just set up an air tank with a regulator, gave the kids a mask and down they went into the barrel! By the speed and amount of bubbles some of these kids produced I think a few were hyperventilating under there, perhaps scared shitless. But luckily they all came up again, and not only that but they all came up with big smiles to boot. Even Amy was brave enough to have a go... after half the village had been in that barrel!
Blue Ventures also has a community health branch called 'Safidy' ("Choice"). The program has been a huge success, particularly in regards to family planning. Previously local residents had very limited access to any family planning services, but now over 50% of the population uses birth control. Likewise public health education is high on the Safidy agenda. Due to the poor soils it is very difficult to dig wells or have any sewage system. Unfortunately residents are forced to defecate on the beach because nobody has toilets in their homes. Trying to completely eradicate open defecation is a huge challenge for Safidy, but they are getting the message out to adults and kids alike through posters, cartoons, signs and education during Saturday School, something we were involved with as volunteers. The problem is not just getting the message out, but also providing a viable alternative.
Basic personal hygiene, particularly hand washing, is also a key message they are getting out to the kids. At one point during the Open Day I noticed a huge crowd of kids eagerly lining up outside one of the Safidy buildings. It looked like a bunch of kids at any school fete waiting for a ride on the merry-go-round or something. But when I walked over to investigate, I was amazed to see that they were lining up for a chance to try the "tippy tap". Used in lieu of a sink for hand washing, the tippy tap is simply a plastic bottle full of water tied upside down with string with a small hole in the lid. These kids were eagerly awaiting to have a go at washing their hands properly. |
the great pirouge race!
The grand finale of the day was a big pirogue race by the local fisherman. Volunteer donations made up the prize money, a whopping 30,000 Ariary for the winning boat! One stipulation was that every boat had to have a volunteer on board for the race. Most captains were willing and happy to do this… but not my team. Scott, myself and Antony were standing in front of them when they were informed that a volunteers presence was non-negotiable. Begrudgingly they looked at their choices, two big strapping lads or notably smaller me. They waved me in looking thoroughly pissed off, as if I had completely wrecked their game plan. Although I don’t speak Malagasy the message was clear: “We are in this to win this and if you stuff it up for us there will be hell to pay, so sit down shut up and be as lightweight as possible!” So much for a fun ride, this was serious pressure!
A huge line of boats lined up along the beach, with the captains waiting further up the beach, ready to race down to their boats on the starting whistle. Scott and I were both taking part in the race so we gave our camera to our good friend Petra who took some awesome action shots for us.
A huge line of boats lined up along the beach, with the captains waiting further up the beach, ready to race down to their boats on the starting whistle. Scott and I were both taking part in the race so we gave our camera to our good friend Petra who took some awesome action shots for us.
As all the boats headed out everyone on board was whoop-whooping, cheering, clapping, singing and someone even had a bugle which all added up to a very exciting atmosphere! I really wanted to join in with all the cheering but on my boat things were deadly serious, the Captain kept yelling at his crew and everyone was quite tense. Even though we took a commanding lead right from the start in our zippy little pirouge, these guys didn't relax or smile until we'd turned at the marker buoy and were on the way home, 10 mins in front of everyone else. On the way back it was lovely to see some of the kids up on the cliffs, cheering us home.
When it was obvious there was no way we were going to lose this race the Captain finally cracked a big wide smile and gave his crew a slap on the back. Our little pirouge sailed effortlessly right up onto the shore and we were swarmed by cheering kids and adults from Andava and the BV staff. I will take some credit for the win, because I did a great job of sitting down, shutting up and being as lightweight as possible! We basked in the glory, took a few victory photos and then I thought, hey, where's Scott?
Way off in the distance was Scott's big, heavy pirouge, slowly making its way in. 20 mins later he eventually tied for last place with Ian; perhaps because his crew had enjoyed the carnival atmosphere so much they hadn't bothered to do any sailing-- it was up to Scott to paddle the whole way!
Way off in the distance was Scott's big, heavy pirouge, slowly making its way in. 20 mins later he eventually tied for last place with Ian; perhaps because his crew had enjoyed the carnival atmosphere so much they hadn't bothered to do any sailing-- it was up to Scott to paddle the whole way!