Happy New Year

We in Vakoka Vakiteny want to wish all of you a happy new year 2011!



For us this year will hopefully be full of activities and we estimate at least 3 or 4 manuscripts to be ready for print and distribution within next new-year. We also hope to find more people who support our work. Therefore we also will try to be more active on this blog.

Christmas markeds in Baden-Baden

Member of the association and long-standing supporter of Vakoka Vakiteny, Mrs. Christel Schelshorn recently participated on two Christmas markets in Baden-Baden. Here she sold handicraft from Madagascar and told about our work for Malagasy literature. She will also contribute on a third marked on December 11.

Mrs. Schelshorn also received generous support from the German-French society in Baden-Baden and the association “Eine-Welt-Verein Keniahilfe”.

We want to thank Mrs. Schelshorn and her associates for the great job in collecting money and spreading information about Vakoka Vakiteny.

The stand together with the “Eine-Welt-Verein”

 Mrs. Schelshorn (r.) here together with the German-French society

Covering of the north of Madagascar for the gepgraphic picture book

Currently we have a co-worker in the northern part of Madagascar doing researches for the geographic picture book. He is now visiting the northeastern coast where there are vanilla and coffee plantations. The north is also very famous for its mixture of people from different cultures, fusion between traditional, colonial and modern culture and architecture, and beautiful coastline and mountains.

Our co-worker called recently telling that the work goes well, but that it rains very much. The northeastern coast is also very well-known for its bad roads and heavy rain. Still we believe that he will be able to finish his researches and bring back new knowledge, pictures and other important material for the manuscript.

Green literature workshop 2

On Tuseday November 16 we had a final meeting and a goodbye party for the green workshops. The results we have after end of the literature workshop are short stories, fairytales, funny stories, poems, fact texts and jokes written in Malagasy by the young participants from 10 to 25 years. Unfortunately we will not be able to include all the about 40 texts in the book, and it is now our work to sort out which texts to publish. This is a very difficult work as many texts are well written and have a clear environmental message.

The book which will contain the chosen texts is going to have 32 pages, hardcover and colorful pictures also made by the youth. It will be printed on recycled paper. The target group for the book is estimated to be from 12 to 14 years. A preliminary title for the book is “Ampanirio” which has a double meaning: “let it grow” and “hope”. It is also the title of one of the poems which will be included in the book.

We have not yet decided the picture for the front cover of the book, but one of the suggestions is this:

This book will not be sold on the free marked, but distributed to green schools and youth organizations in Madagascar. The expenses will be covered by Green Living in Stavanger through the association in Germany.

Green literature workshop

We are now in the middle of a very exiting workshop in Antsirabe. It is prepared and led by Green Living in Stavanger, Norway. The workshop trainers, however, are both from Madagascar and Norway, and the participants are Malagasy youth.

Our part of this workshop is a literature seminar for youth where the outcome will be a book containing texts about the environment. Until now there have been youth groups from the organization Green Pilots and student groups from several schools sharing experience and learning how to write good stories. We have been able to collect many good short stories, fairytales, funny stories and poems for the book. It will be hard work to select the texts which are going to be published in the book.

Young writers together with authors Terje Torkildsen at the left and Mparany at the right.

A girl sharing her story with the other participants and receiving feedback.

Workshop trainers together with pupils from Farimbona School.

Donation from Sunde skole

The primary school Sunde skole in Stavanger, Norway has donated NOK 8000 (€ 980) for the development and publishing of the geographic picture book for Malagasy school children (http://vakiteny.blogspot.com/2010/08/atlas-geographic-picture-book-for.html). The transfer will be accomplished through the Association for School and Children’s books in Madagascar.

We in Vakoka Vakiteny are very grateful for this support, and we want to thank pupils and teachers – especially our contact at the school, Mrs. Bodil Hauken – for this generous donation. The school will continuously receive information about the writing process. Sunde skole will be mentioned in the book, and the school will also receive some copies when it has been printed.

There has been cooperation between Sunde skole and Vakoka Vakiteny before as Sunde skole has bought books from us for their partner school La Joie in Antsirabe, Madagascar. We also hope that the cooperation will continue in the future.

Vakoka Vakiteny will publish a green book

As noted earlier on this blog (http://vakiteny.blogspot.com/2010/06/vakoka-vakiteny-in-cooperation-with.html) Vakoka Vakiteny was in contact with the Norwegian organization Grønn Hverdag in Stavanger already in June. Grønn Hverdag, which means “green living”, cooperates with schools and youth organizations in Madagascar. Together with these partners they will develop a manuscript concerning the environment in Madagascar.

This manuscript will be written by the children in the partner schools together with two facilitators, a Norwegian and a Malagasy author during a 10 days’ workshop in November. The Malagasy author will be Mparany from Vakoka Vakiteny.

This green book will contain whatever the children want to express about the environment, and will be a mixture of several writing styles, for example stories, fact texts, fairytales, poems, etc. The children will also paint pictures to the text.

Vakoka Vakiteny will put the texts and the pictures together, make the layout had have it printed in Antananarivo. It seems that the printing house will be able to use recycled paper for the pages inside the book, which will underline the environmental message. We will also distribute the books to the partner schools in the Antsirabe area when the printing is finished.

We in Vakoka Vakiteny look forward to this cooperation, and especially Mparany is very glad to be asked to contribute with his experience to help the children write the texts.