"A breathe for life, a second chance for some."

AIMS

Ravenala is a socio-educational association which gives Malagasy young people the opportunity to learn a new language and/or experience life in Europe. Also to give foreign volunteers the opportunity to experience life in Madagascar.

WHY RAVENALA?

"Ravenala madagascariensis" is the scientific name for ravinala;commonly called the travellers tree because it accumulates water in its trunk and quenches thirst. We chose this name because the values of our association are to enable students to quench their thirst for new experiences and opportunities in life.

OUR HISTORY

It was created by the RASALOMON siblings, which consists of five brothers and sisters.

Heavily affected by the Covid-19 health crisis, tourism has been hit especially hard. Rivo, the eldest and an independent tour guide, lost his job and began giving language lessons to young students to occupy his time.

Dina, the youngest, works as a nurse in Germany. She originally left Madagascar to work as an au pair, and now strongly supports the family during the long periods of lockdown.

Tiaray and Malala, who are graduates of major schools of finance and administration, united with their brothers and sisters and together created the association, being very aware that study is a vital key to success. Nowadays, 20 years old, the last one of the siblings is among the students.

Currently, the association has around fifty members, planning to go to Europe as au pairs and volunteers.

OUR MISSIONS

To offer language courses in German, English, French, and Japanese
To place Malagasy young people in au pair & volunteers positions in Europe, through partnerships with agencies and associations in Europe
To welcome and support international volunteers in Madagascar

We place young au pairs and Malagasy volunteers, mainly through partnerships with other agencies and associations in Europe.

Qualifications offered to our au pairs & volunteers

Language diplomas issued by recognized language institution
Certificate of First aid training to Red Cross level
Individual professional qualification (eg: cooking...)
Internship in a nursery or specialized institution ( eg: center for people with disabilities...)

Eligibility criteria

For our students

-be under 30 years old

-females only for au pair placement

For host families

-Have at least one child under 17

-Single parent accepted if the woman is the parent.

VOLUNTEERS

We welcome Malagasy and foreign volunteers, for an unlimited period, whose roles will be to:

Improve the language level of young au pair and Malagasy volunteers who are going to Europe.
Train students in a specialized school, depending on volunteer's qualifications
Complete internship within a range of organizations

It is important that the volunteer can see some of the country during their stay, and we offer discounted, high quality travel tours organized by Rivo, experienced tour guide, in acknowledgement of their work.

ACCOMMODATION CAPACITY

Located in a large property in a quiet area 20 minutes from the city center, the association currently has:

a large room that serves as a classroom
two large bedrooms upstairs, which can accommodate two volunteers each
an attic which serves as a dormitory and which can accommodate up to six people
large bathroom

COMING ON CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING (generally 2 to 4 weeks)

Being governed by no law, humanitarian leave is the result of pure negotiation between the employee and the employer, in the private sector or in the public service, which can be financed entirely or in part by the employer. Some companies already have humanitarian leave programs.

Permanent welcome project: language improvement for the association.

Tips for coming on humanitarian leave

find out if your company has a humanitarian leave program
check if your company has subsidiaries or products in Madagascar
finance the stay together with the employer to optimize the chances of coming

HOW TO HELP US?

talk about us in your family and friendship circles
share our publications on social media
donate books (lesson book, comic strip...)
give financial donations (money will be for the association's needs, please write to us for more details)

SPONSORSHIP

The association sponsors 5 families in difficulty whose heads of families work for the center, including: two cleaning agents, a maintenance agent, a security guard and a courier

Friends of the association

Dani & David EDWARDS (UK)

Christophe SCHLIENGER (FR)

Professor Adrien MANDRANO (Antsirabe Hospital, MADAGASCAR)

Facebook page: Ravenala

Address: Lot II A 122 GM bis L Nanisana Antananarivo MADAGASCAR

"A breathe for life, a second chance for some."

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