Photos of My House in Madagascar

Here are some photos of my house. It has banana trees and mango trees in the yard. Yum! The outhouse and building for my bucket showers is in the back. My house does not have running water, so I have pay someone to carry water to my house several times a week. The water is stored in a big barrel. I have to chlorinate some of the water, boil some of it, and then mix the two together before using any water at all. It is a routine that I have gotten used to now.

The photos of the inside of my house were taken when I visited my site in August. I was still in training then so that's why the house looks a bit empty. I sleep underneath the mosquito net that hangs from the ceiling above my bed. The malaria-carrying mosquitoes bite only at night.

So...now you know what my "Home Sweet Home" looks like. Want to come for a visit?

School in Madagascar

Here are some photos of my school. Students are required to pay to go to school. They have to buy notebooks, too. They must wear uniforms which their mothers make for them. There are no teaching supplies or textbooks to use in the classroom. Some students travel a long distance to attend the high school, so they have to live with relatives in town during the week while they go to school.

The students in these photos have become pen pals with my Mom's students in West Virginia. They are very excited about corresponding with them in English. They recently received our first letters so hopefully their letters will be reaching us by January. We are all hoping to learn from this international "World Wise Schools" project.

Photos of Ifanadiana

My house sits up on a hill behind the market in Ifanadiana. On the left (far side of the street) is what a typical general store looks like. The metal roof on the right covers the home to the butchers, vegetable sellers, etc.