Barcamp Madagascar 2.0

The second edition of Barcamp Madagascar  was held on saturday, July 4th, 2009 at Ivotel Ambohidahy. Bloggers, journalists, citizens wanting to know more about new media attended the workshop.

Lova Rakotomalala

This year Foko has choosen the topic “Crowd sourcing info in Madagascar” presented by Lova Rakotomalala. The new media which is a digital communication tool for spreading information using blog, twitter, youtube, flickr… The new media which is more and more appreciated due to its quick and instant flow is also growing in Madagascar. The need of new media has been highlighted during the crisis of Madagascar.  Some boggers then took the floor to share their experiences. We could hear Andry (Foko Antananarivo), Jentilisa, Avylavitra, Stefane (Foko Antananarivo), Jaona (Foko Fianarantsoa), Patrick (Foko Toamasina), Gaetan (Foko Antsirabe). The main purpose was about the Madagascar crisis. It seems like all of these  bloggers exactly knew that they were running into troubles and big risks trying to take pics and eye-witness riots but could not restrain themselves from blogging.

We also had the priviliege to hear about different social networks: twitter, facebook, friendfeed… the web 2.0 by Thierry Andriamirado. By the way, it was the first time for me to meet @tandriamirado and I was really pleased. A blog is not enough if none knows about its existence, we do need social networks to get the interest of the followers, to share and to spread information.

The former Minister of communication, Tsilavina Ralaindimby attended the Barcamp 2.0. He acknowledged that Malagasy bloggers have done a great job throughout the crisis.

After a short break, the workshop kept on with Chris and Afick from the region of SAVA. They talked about a current project of establishing social radios in  remoted areas in Madagascar.  Working with Radio Active and BBC, Radio Ciel of Antalaha is now efficient.

Claire Ulrich

Claire, from Global Voice in French, talked about different cases of censorship all over the world. She said that nowadays, governments are aware of the power of internet and new media. This is the reason why they have created new systems to block disclosure of some information that may harm them. We recently heard about the case of Iran elections and the arrest of bloggers. Other cases of censorship are disappearance of the site or the bog, or some articles of the blog, or censored names which will be changed into unknown letters. How to avoid censorship? Claire advised each blogger to make sure to know the laws and regulations of their country in order not to give reason to the government to arrest them. Herdict.org has been created for each one of us about websites or blogs that do not run properly.

I attended the first edition of Barcamp Madagascar but blogging and stuff were too new for me to get really involved. This year was exceptionnally different because I sincerely felt concerned. Tahina and I should have even participated by presenting Foko-Ushahidi but I do not really know why at the last moment another guy has been invited by Stefane to talk about it. Anyway, it was cool.

Ushahidi which means “Testimony”is a social network which Foko has decided to work with inviting all citizens of Madagascar to report and to share any event, case, abuses… they  have eye-witnessed by logging on http://foko-ushahidi.com or sending sms to (+261) 33 40 691 11.

Patrick and I

I was so glad to meet, for the first time, Patrick from BUEC Toamasina. Nice to meet you dear

A big hand to all of us guys

More pics on My Flickr

Madagascar: last tribute to MJ, the King of Pop

My friends and I couldn’t believe it when we saw a message saying “R.I.P MJ, the King of Pop” on Facebook on Thursday, June 26th, 2009. In fact, we were all together that night to celebrate the Malagasy Independence Day.

My brother and I talked about Michael Jackson’s death in a cab and amazingly the cabber asked “but who is that Michael Jackson? “. My brother then said that he was a singer from America. And the cabber wanted to know if MJ was Black or White? My brother and I looked at each other with a little smile but didn’t reply

All MJ’s fans gathered at Gare Soarano:

We heard from news that all fans throughout the world will gather to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. Malagasy MJ’s fans decided then to meet at Gare Soarano on wednesday evening starting from 5.oo p.m., through the initiative of someone that we still don’t know. Some people heard announcement on TV, others got the news from twitter and facebook.

I was impressed that this event was completely instant. Some came with posters and photos of MJ, some brought candles and a big book of lyrics, a guy was disguised to look like the King of Pop and even danced on the rythm of MJ’s songs played from a friend’s car. You’ll find below the interview of this friend who is a real Big Fan of MJ.

Njato and Hery, fans of MJ brought the posters and photos

Fan forever:

Lova, not only a Big Fan of Michael Jackson but also a great drawer, will nicely share his sweet thought about his STAR. Enjoy.

+ Why do you like MJ? and what do you like the most in MJ?
I love the energy in his dance and move. What I admire the most is his meticulous way in doing things and his vision. Michael Jackson always see huge and new things that people follow years after.

+ Since when have you liked MJ?
I was a kid during the thriller era and I used to tease my aunts because then she was so in it, I used to say “zordir e” [trash] instead of “just beat it” and she was sooo mad at me… but then in 1987, Bad album was released, and then was my turn to be hooked.

+ How did you behave when you heard all the story with the kids?
I just said “Well, MJ was an easy target, but look at the end he’s gonna be acquitted.” It’s sad people doubt him, and it’s so unjust when you see media & als could make lots of money out of it. Showbiz is showbiz, what a pity.

+ As a fan, what are your limits?
No plastic surgery for me, I love his  move, the poet in he was and his appreciation of beauty.

+How can you define the music of MJ?
“Perfect and revolutionary”

+ The MJ’s songs/album you like the most? Why?
Well, Man in the mirror IS the song I can say I like the most… it talks about “change of self, helping people…”. And it’s so special for me because thanks to that song, English language is now in me. Before, I didn’t know the meaning of the song, and I just loved the melody, but I did everything to make it possible for me to understand it, I asked my parents to buy me a dictionary, and I picked all words in the lyrics one by one, and I translated them… and starting from that, my English is born The song offered me an opportunity to speak English, it’s a self change.

+ How did you feel when you heard about MJ’s death?
I was soooo stunned, I didn’t believe it. Once I heard about it from a friend, who sent his sympathy with a short message around 6am, I didn’t care wether it was a joke or not, my very first reflex was to grab my remote controls and I browsed all news channels to look for further infos…

+ Do you agree with his nickname King of pop?
Definitely, he is the KING OF POP.

MJ - Lova - Roxy

+ During your MJ’s interpretations, share the best experience.
First of all, I’d say, I was the only Malagasy fan that performed his dance on our national tv station in “Avoria” tv show in 1989. And after that I was asked to perform it everywhere : roxy, antsahamanitra, ccesca, falda, and even in the suburb areas… but the very first was during my father’s stage anniversary with my little sister (then, we pretend to be Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson). I was amazed and a little bit proud of myself when people came at me for a signature after any show… You know I felt like I was my star …LOL…

My best experience was the opening of our wedding ball, my wife and I tried to interpret our stars, hers “Aaliyah” and mine was “Michael Jackson”.

+Any message for all MJ lovers?
Our MJ will always be remembered. But please, keep all good things he did and ignore all tabloid junkies. May he rest in peace.

Workshop: FOKO teaching IST students to blog

Two weeks ago, Stéfane had been contacted by a responsible from JENIST (Jeunes Entrepreneurs de l’IST) who invited FOKO to teach IST students about blogging.

Saturday, June 13th, Pati, Tahina, Andry, Affick and I joined Stéfane for the workshop.

I have to admit that the JENIST was not that well organized and IST students were not even aware of the event they were organizing. FOKO got the cybercafé of the institute for the workshop. Despite the ads we put around, the students came to sky and were disappointed that the cybercafé is only open for the workshop. It was a little disappointing for us when those youngsters decided to leave the room then.

The workshop should have started at 8.00 a.m. and some of the FOKO members were already there since 7.30 a.m. to make sure that everything would be alright; though at 9.00 a.m., nothing started yet. Pati and I decided to “recruit” some guys singing outside to fill this empty room. We told them that we were bloggers from FOKO and wanted to share our (little) experience and teach them how to create a blog. One of the guys asked what was that “blog” mean. So I said “if you want to know more, you are invited to join us at the ESPATEL (the name of the cybercafé)”. Three of the guys stoop up and followed us while a few stayed keeping on their songs followed by the sound of a guitar.

9.30 a.m. Wew… during the break, more people came to “our” workshop and our little room finally was crowded. We could feel relieved

Stéfane and his students

Stéfane and Andry (proudly ) started with a little introduction of FOKO Madagascar, then explained what a blog is and why joining the blogosphere could be important and interesting. Some of the audience could get a computer while the others were standing around taking notes not to miss the creating process of  a blog. Each one of us was assigned to a little group. I was in charge of a young guy who has chosen Quiidam as a nickname. At the beginning, he just wanted to be nice with me but was not interested at all. I could feel it so I opened several FOKO members’ blogs and showed him how beautiful and interesting personal blogs are. Then came the questions and he got more and more involved . He honestly said that he loved the idea of having his own blog but this Quiidam’s Blog might be just a try for the workshop. He already had some plans in mind, sharing the music he creates to the world. I am so happy this evening when I opened his link and could see already three posts (biographies of rappers) and a nice tag as a header image.

Quiidam and I / Affick and the two teachers

Affick was in charge of two ladies, both teachers at IST. The task was not that easy for the poor guy because the way of understanding of the teachers took a little bit longer comparing to the other “kids” .  I was glad Tahina took over with my “student” so I could help one of the ladies who really insisted to have me.

“]

A group photo before leaving [ with FOKO and IST new bloggers

After the workshop, we were supposed to stay but couldn’t. Before leaving, we visited the two stalls of JENIST outside. I came nearer to talk to JENIST members. JENIST is a club within IST institute which gather students, entrepreneurship and talents. They proudly showed me a tag drawn by a member. There was also this little box for playing quizzes: the first who knows the answer should press the button and then the light will be on. These guys also publish an in-house newspaper.

A tag made by a JENIST

for quizzes

 

Business around Mother’s Day: wrapping gifts

To start with, English speaking countries and French ones don’t celebrate Mother’s day on the same day. This year, Francophone countries, like Madagascar, celebrates it on Sunday June 7th.

This Mother’s day is the sadest in my life cuz it’s the first one I don’t have my lovely Mom beside me and I especially miss her so much. If she was there, I am sure that the 3 of us would make a great surprise for her aswe used to but she’s not here.

No more tears. Mom taught us to be always happy and strong whatever may happen in our life.

I was with friends hanging out downtown this saturday and it was really hard to cross the wall of people who were trying to find the best gift for their mothers.The sidewalks were completely crowded of sellers and, of course, Mother’s gifts buyers .When everyone turned their eyes on what the people we met had bought (flowers, paintings, bags, sandals, sweaters, …), I was attracted by another business, afterall all festivities turn around business and marketing nowadays (Valentine’s day, Christmas, and stuff). There were a lot of people who got this idea: wrapping gift. They knew that a lot of customers will need such service after choosing a gift. They were ready with some boxes already nicely wrapped with different colors and sizes. And this part time job got success. The time I took the pics, it was already 7.00 p.m.

Garage Vony – Rickshaw manufacturer

During my stay in Antsirabe, I had the opportunity to visit a little workshop named “Garage Vony”, a rickshaw manufacturer.

Since 2003, rickshaw as a mean of transport has been considered as not respecting human rights. So the Commune of Antsirabe launched the “cyclopousse” – a rickshaw pulled by a bike -, and the taxi “Kinga”. Yet, “traditional” rickshaws are the mainly taken by the Antsirabe citizens. A reason why I was interested in visiting a rickshaw manufacturer.

I tell you, everything I saw in this Garage Vony amazed me. The little workshop was a mess because everything was made in it… I mean EVERYTHING (well… almost) even the wheels,  the screws, the welding…

Enjoy the pics

The couple, Emile and Vony are the owners of the workshop, they prefer to call it Garage since rickshaws are mean of transport in Antsirabe. They started this business in 1990. Emile’s parents were carts manufacturers in the beginning. Then, Emile, a self made man,  took over from his parents, and began to make rickshaws.

This “Garage”, with 6 workers – all relatives – (including Emile and Vony), can sell around 10 rickshaws per month. A rickshaw costs Ariary 180,000. They mostly make rickshaws for customers outside Antsirabe since the market there had been closed by the Commune since 2004. During my visit, they were contracting for the Red Cross. 24 rickshaws will be distributed in some cut-off areas to transport sick people to the health center (there is no hospital).

They mostly make rickshaws for customers outside Antsirabe since the market there had been closed by the Commune since 2004.

As I mentioned earlier, the Commune has decided to launch the cyclopousse and the taxi Kinga in order to  eradicate the traditional rickshaws which show image of slavery. Since 2003, each rickshaw must have a registration number, have a license, pay taxes and the driver must pass an exam of the Highway Code. No more licenses nor registration numbers were delivered by the end of 2004 which explains that only a few people still buy new rickshaws. These few customers come to Garage Vony because their rickshaw needs some repairs or is completely ruined so they need a new one but will keep the same registration number and license.

Now, the main customers, most of the time  individuals  or hotel owners, of the Garage come from Antananarivo, Farafangana, other places but Antsirabe. The family can not save much money as before but have only enough to buy basic needs. Vony sincerely hopes that this market in Antsirabe will open again.

Want a lil ride, Gilbert?

 I was… uh… AM among the people who dislikes taking a rickshaw ride because I sincerely believe it is inhuman. Then I met Gilbert, a rickshaw driver, who explained that he really enjoys his job and without passengers he would come back home in the evening with nothing for his family. “This job made me strong and stay young (… laughs… ) because of the physical efforts. I can’t find a better job than being a rickshaw driver”, says Gilbert.  Unluckily, some of his “friends” could not get registration number nor license and now, became smugglers.

 

 

We never know, you may be interested in contacting Garage Vony for another report or for ordering a new rickshaw. Here is the adress: Ivory Lot 17 A 116 C Antsirabe I. You can also call the number            +261 32 49 643 34        . You will see, they are really nice and are doing great work.

Departure for Antsirabe

Wednesday, May,27 2009, 4.00 a.m., the alarm clock rings. Amazingly, I could wake up right away. Because the alarm clock was not for my work, it was for a trip to Antsirabe .

4.30 a.m., the cab is already waiting for Andry and I. Yeah, a start of adventure.

4.47 a.m., the cab driver told us that instead of going to the “Taxi-Brousse” station at Fasan’ny Karana, it is better to take it in Anosy.  It sounded great so we stopped at the roundabout of Anosy. A guy came to us and  asked if we wanted to go to Antsirabe. We said yes, and then followed the guy. After a bargain, we got the seats next to the driver.

5.00 a.m., the van was not full yet but the driver was ready to leave when the conductor noticed cops. The driver tried to hide the van behind 2 big trucks. Then, Andry and I understood. This van had broken the rule of its “cooperative” (association/ union of  transporters) [It is mandatory to be part of a cooperative]. The driver went out to check if the way is clear. Meanwhile, the conductor explained to us, passengers, that they are doing so to avoid to pay too much money to the “cooperative”. He explained that they almost gain nothing because the main part goes directly to the responsibles of the “cooperative”. He even said, that it is sad that he and the driver cannot afford to buy a new van with the money they can get though, the people at the “cooperative” can buy 1 or 2 vans. Franckly speaking, I sympathize with the driver and the conductor.

The passengers all agreed with this sytem. Regular passengers said that taking the bus in Anosy is safer and faster than at the station in Fasan’ny Karana. When the first van in Anosy leaves at 5.00a.m., in Fasan’ny Karana it will be at 6.00 a.m. and only if all the seats are taken.

While waiting for the driver to come back, another man arrived with 3 more passengers and 2 others a few minutes later.  Wow, the team work impressed me a lot.

5.15 a.m., the real trip starts

Cleaning the water of Marais Masay

Marais Masay

Fishermen at Marais Masay

The Marais Masay is a former swamp which has been transformed to collect the discharge of dirty water from the surrounding areas and companies. It is so obvious that fishing at this marsh is forbidden. Poverty makes people breaking the law. As you can see on the pic, people are still fishing there. I heard that they take those fishes and put them in a clean pool for a week and then sell them in some markets far from Marais Masay.

Now, there is a project, sponsored by Ile de France, to clean the water of Marais Masay. Since it is hard to follow and to punish the fishermen, cleaning the marsh can be a good solution. And frankly speaking, I love this project. I am not good at technical details, and since there was noone there to answer my questions, I only took pics so enjoy them

The name of this project is Vetiver Float – “Flotteur de  Vétiver”. Vetiver is the name of the grass. This float is used to hold garbage and to purify the water so eating fishes from Marais Masay will be safer in a near future.

How to make a candle last?

On saturday, I was a little bit late downtown. I was estonished seeing the market late in the evening.

What attracted me the most was this.

huh… I did not mean the sausages  looool, look at the candle!!

Yes, the candle is covered with newspaper. Fold a sheet of newspaper, wrap up the candle with it. Doing so will help you  have candle light for more than two hours. Clever!

A fire at Esplanade Analakely

Curious people

4.55 p.m., I was down the stairs of Antaninarenina when I saw 2 trucks of firefighters. Suddenly, I heard people screaming then turned my head to the Esplanade Analakely, I could see smoke from… I was not sure until I came nearer… I could see smoke from a Gargote.

Normally, I used to think that running and gathering to see what’s happening was silly, though today, automatically, I run while trying to take out my camera (watching around if doing so was safe ). Arrived at the burning wreckage, the crowd had already surrounded the place, disturbing the firefighters. They angrily instructed these people to move back. As I talked to a responsible, I could come nearer the zone and take some pics.

Firefighter in action

Quickly, the firefighters opened the Gargote, pulled their big pipes and watered the room on fire. The led-firefighter calmed down the curious people around, there was noone inside, only materials. Everything in the little gargote was burnt and destroyed: table, chairs, plates, …

Damaged materials

What interested everyone as well was to know the source of the fire. A young lady who is working at the Gargote, on her way home, was called by the neighbors and came back to see the damage. Another lady, the owner, also arrived. I tried to talk to them and asked what may have caused the fire. They pretended not to know, though the proof was there, the firefighters discovered a charcoal fire.

The source of the fire

Fortunately, the firefighters were on time, if not the whole block would have been set on fire.

Such case of frogotten fire charcoal or candles has already destroyed many homes and killed several people in Madagascar. I sincerely hope that, at least the crowd who were present today, would be more cautious in future.

Kids playing kites

Sunday morning, I was dazzled seeing kids full of joy playing kites. I decided to take out my camera and come nearer to take some pics. They were all excited and I wish Andry could take a pic of me surrounded by the kids. I have to admit that I really appreciated such moment (one of the reason why I’ve dreamt of becoming a reporter ). Look at the kids on the pic below; they all run to be in the photo .

I could meet Ikalavazaha, a little girl who made her own kite and proudly played among the guys.

Ikalavazaha

I also noticed that some kites were stranded in the wire poles.

No more comments, enjoy the pics

For your information, the Malagasy word for kite is “Papango” which means Hawk. They are made with plastic bags, threads and two thin pieces of bamboo.

The kites are really simple (not like Chinese ones) but the kids are able to make their own papango and are really proud of their great job. They would be really sad if their kite will be stuck in the wire poles, anyway, they will always manage to make a new one.