Presentation Jitters

Tomorrow I am doing my first presentations to 8th grade students about my time in Madagascar and providing information about the reasons they should read more about WWF and the organization's conservation throughout the world. After being in the bush and things being slow, it is a bit tough to fully process how fast things are starting to move, but I am excited nevertheless to share my findings and to hear questions that kids have who are curious about the biodiversity of this amazing island.

Yet, a part of me is nervous and I found myself for a second wondering if I could be confident enough to stand in front of a class of 8 grade students. At times I feel the children of today are harder to please in the states than maybe even the adults. This isn't Africa, where if I was to put together a powerpoint, most of them would be just amazed to be looking at a screen where colorful photos of plants and animals were being shown. I feel there are so many species of plants and animals that I would love to learn more about and explain to others as Madagascar really has such an exotic collection of species. I thought about even the types of "silicates" in this area and thought about getting my old geology, geography and ecology books out so that I might be able to explain better how so many species became isolated on this island, and the various adaptations of the species that reside in Madagascar. I tried to find an interactive thing showing how the plates broke apart, and how the continents shifted and the way that Madagascar separated from India and headed towards Africa, but then I felt that it would make my presentation a bit too complicated. Part of me is unsure what kids learn about in 8th grade as it has been very long since I have even entered a middle school class in the states. Maybe this will be a good way to test my presentation and teacher skills!

Last night I decided to buy a website, one which I shall dedicate to putting all the information I hope to gather over the next months regarding the endemic species of this planet. Hopefully I will be able to share with others the rare plants and animals I have seen and who knows might see in the future travels to Madagascar. It's odd, but I have become a doer, sadly this is going to play a huge role in the decrease of entries in my blog, as most of me desires to share information about my time in Madagascar through visuals and conversations that occur in person. I still like to write, but most my time is spent right now reading up and trying to keep in my head the information that I gathered while I was in my trip in Madagascar.

I hope to create a report that outlines the various projects of WWF in the Toliar region of Madgascar, and also provides people with information about the many marine and land reserves that are being implemented thanks to the collaboration of ANGAP and WWF. Unfortunately, I still do not feel that there is a real answer to fully do conservation that is able to be long term in this area due to the poverty of the people making survival a key reason for slash and burn of the land. Plus, I feel that the current president of Madagascar has been slowly opening the country to too many foreigners who are trying to use the land to build hotels and other resorts which solely cater to outsiders. The fate of the people of the south has and still rests with the numerous officials who take the government offices, but are predominately from Antananarivo (the capital). Thus, the officials do not rarely care for the needs of the locals of the areas where they control the policies and tend to act for the benefit of the growth of the capital rather than the needs of the villages and their occupants. This is an old tale, a tale that is prevalent in most areas of the world, especially many parts of Africa. The large amounts of precious minerals on this island has also attracted a lot of miners, while local miners cannot use any sort of heavy machinery, the foreign mining companies are allowed to dig with any sort of machinery they desire; the resources are not being extracted for the growth of the country's' economy. The next few years will show a move towards Madagascar getting even more lost in the clouds of policies that are only working for the economic gains of a few while keeping most of the country in poverty. There is a huge promotion of Family Planning and English in the country, none of which truly seem to be what the people need nor want. The education system tends to lack analytical skill teaching, as most are farmers, hunters, fisherman, and teachers in the village. The job market is small, and the education is poor, with illiteracy being high, and the literacy rate not adding to much but memorization skills. I felt that people were being taught English just so that the South African miners and those who did not speak English were able to be understood in the country, not for the actual economic and social benefit of the people themselves.

Maybe the story of Madagascar is much like most countries where rich resources are being guarded for the benefit of external companies and people. Yet, the country is still enchanting, with lizards on hotel floors, geckos wandering everywhere, chameleons that can be heard at times but not seen, and a large growing population that has many people who are aware of the medicinal purposes of the different endemic plants in their region. A lot of the issues in this region are due to the lack of sanitation and environmental education that is actually understood by the people. Although I visited a school where the entire book was dedicated to teaching the children in malagasy and French about washing hands, and the environment, no one seemed to comprehend this well in the village. Why is that? A lot of the children go to school as they receive free food, but many are not able to go as they must work in the fields. Of the children that go to school, many still cannot read, and also there doesn't seem any sort of effort to use the information in the books to change their habits. While the books talk about using latrines, washing hands, and not bathing in the river, the village had only one latrine (for us) and one for the teachers, and the children tend to wander around rarely using soap to wash their hands before eating or after going to the toilet behind the large masses of cactii.