What sort of gifts should I bring for children in Madagascar?
Gifts for kids are tricky. Technically most people say you shouldn't give things directly to children -- rather to their parents or teachers on behalf of the kids. Giving things directly to children is said to encourage begging. Pens/pencils and nutritional items are good. Stickers and ballons are enjoyed but not particularly useful.
If you have the time, a nice thing to bring is a handout with English and Malagasy words on it so kids can learn a few words and phrases. There are a couple of resources at http://www.wildmadagascar.org/media/ and http://www.wildmadagascar.org/people/malagasy-english.html which might be of interest for distributing. I personally like the one with the wildlife in English and Malagasy (at the bottom of the list).
Pictures
If you take pictures of kids and tell them you will send them a photo, you should honor your word. Even if it takes months for a child to receive a photograph, it will still be a very special moment for him or her. It may be the first photo the child will ever seen of him or herself.
For the truly dedicated techies, brining a digital camera printer could make the photo giving process instantaneous. Be wary though of creating unfair expectations for future visitors. It may be best to delay a bit before giving the pictures -- perhaps wait over night if possible. Also power can be a luxury in Madagascar so be prepared with plenty of batteries.
Almost all pictures on this site were taken with a Konica Minolta
Recent articles
Madagascar fires mapped with Google Earth in real-time Every year as much as one-third of Madagascar, one of the planet's most biodiverse islands, goes up in flames. Now a new tool gives scientists the ability to monitor and track Madagascar's fires in real-time through the Internet.
UNESCO lists rainforest parks of Madagascar as Heritage sites (7/2/2007) UNESCO has listed six rainforest parks in Madagascar as World Heritage sites. The announcement comes as the Indian Ocean island nation has moved aggressively to protect its biologically-rich forests from further degradation.
Conservation is saving lemurs and helping people in Madagascar (5/7/2007) Madagascar, an island nation that lies off the coast of southeastern Africa, has long been famous for its unique and diverse species of wildlife, especially lemurs--primates found nowhere else on the planet. In recent years, the island country has also become world-renowned for conservation efforts that are succeeding in spite of extraordinary pressures from a poor population that relies heavily on forest burning for basic subsistence. A large part of this success is due to the early efforts of Patricia Wright, a primatologist who has been working in the country for more than 20 years. Wright led the effort to launch the country's leading protected area and helped Madagascar become a leading global example of conservation despite its economic adversity.
