Economy Health Highlights Special Reports

The joy of giving: my humbling experience at the Malagasy orphanage La Maison d’Arnaud

Cute as a cucumber, Melody, left, and the two thirds of the triplets shouting 'I love Tatty Cherish,’ the only English sentence the children mastered while Cherish Chirume volunteered at La Maison.
Cute as a cucumber, Melody, left, and the two thirds of the triplets shouting ‘I love Tatty Cherish,’ the only English sentence the children mastered while Cherish Chirume volunteered at La Maison.

BY CHERISH CHIRUME

At 29, I didn’t feel fulfilled. I’d been working in advertising trying to move high up the career ladder, but that was proving difficult. It was a constant internal battle as I tried to justify capitalist gain vs. selfless gain. Deep down I knew I had to take a break and find me, the person I truly and wholly am.

I left my job and started freelancing; my plan was no plan. All I knew was I wanted to travel the world. Something was pulling me to Madagascar but I had no idea what it was. I plotted out my itinerary: Ethiopia-Zimbabwe-Madagascar-Zanzibar-Malawi-Botswana– Australia, but, like every traveler knows, things don’t always go according to plans. As I was leaving Ethiopia, I knew it was only right to skip my next stop and go straight to Madagascar. The idea was to sightsee, learn a bit of French and Malagasy and meet new people. Needless to say, as I got there, my plans changed.

On arrival in Antananarivo, I met Sinead Goward, a fellow traveller. She’d been in Madagascar for a month and was planning to volunteer at a children’s home in Diego Suarez. Sinead told me about a children’s home called La Maison d’Arnaud and the work they were doing. Immediately, I knew why Madagascar had chosen me.

One of Cherish's last days babysitting the kids. “We thought we would play around with the go pro,” she tells The African.
One of Cherish’s last days babysitting the kids. “We thought we would play around with the go pro,” she tells The African.

Before I got to La Maison d’Arnaud, I knew little about the Home, the North of Madagascar. The executive director disclosed the reason why La Maison d’Arnaud is based in the North of Madagascar. The founders targeted this region because of the inequality in the presence of international support, high incidences of child abuse and prevalent sex tourism. Walking in the streets of Diego, sex tourism is undeniably evident. Madagascar is often seen as an anomaly, no one knows about the everyday struggles she faces and these issues are not acknowledged internationally.

I began to learn more about the Home. La Maison d’Arnaud is the first project that was launched by The Arnaud Guesry Foundation, an NGO registered (VO-727) in the small island of Malta. Their aim is to provide long-term housing, care and education for children orphaned, abandoned, neglected or abused. The founder, Dr. Pierre René Guesry, was a paediatrician who sadly died in 2015. Following the death of his 7-year–old son, Dr. Pierre René Guesry was driven to contribute to the protection and development of children orphaned and in need. La Maison d’Arnaud is one of the only NGOs that has taken steps to acknowledge the poverty and the widespread sex tourism in Diego Suarez. They work closely with Social Services to ensure that at-risk children are safe and secure. They not only take in orphaned children, but also children from alcoholism, prison, abuse, enslavement or abandonment.

Tatty Lantu (the children’s nanny) trying to get adorable Chancelloh to look at the camera but he was finding her face more edible!
Tatty Lantu (the children’s nanny) trying to get adorable Chancelloh to look at the camera but he was finding her face more edible!

While at La Maison d’Arnaud, I had the opportunity to care for all the 27 children at the Home. I was involved in all aspects of the Home, from working in the kitchen to helping with both the health and social development of the children. Using the experience gained from our previous roles, Sinead and I wrote and produced an infomercial to generate more donations, educate potential donors and attract more sponsors. I was delighted to narrate the infomercial.

What humbled me most was when I visited the hospitals and worked closely with the social worker, I realized that many issues still need to be addressed on an international scale when it comes to poverty and illness. Children are constantly dying of malnutrition and disease due to the costs of healthcare and medicine. If a typical Malagasy lives on $2 a day, how can they afford medication that costs $5 per day? Within the three months I was there, there were five cases of child malnutrition and three of those children sadly died. With the determination of NGOs like La Maison d’Arnaud, families are given the extra support that is needed with food and medicine. Such NGOs also work with parents and doctors to provide care and rehabilitation for the children.

La Maison d’Arnaud currently runs on approximately $55,000 per year, but with the rise in costs, the Home needs people like us to donate and sponsor children. La Maison d’Arnaud is transparent with their finances and all the money donated goes straight to the Home. Donations and sponsors are always welcome. You can visit their website www.arnaudguesryfoundation.org to find out more.

Julianna, Melody and Olivia posing for the camera. “They are the sweetest and most humble little girls on the planet,” says kind-hearted Cherish.
Julianna, Melody and Olivia posing for the camera. “They are the sweetest and most humble little girls on the planet,” says kind-hearted Cherish.

Being at La Maison d’Arnaud was such an insightful yet amazing experience. I have learned to not only appreciate the choices I have in life, but to also be an advocate for change. It only takes one person to create a ripple effect and I for one would like to be that one person.

CONTACT INFO

Laura Lejman, Bureau de poste, Place Foche, Antsiranana 201 PO Box 638 Madagascar

Phone: +261 (0) 32 684 0179
E-mail: arnaudguesryfoundation@hotmail.com

Website: http://arnaudguesryfoundation.org