In Mananjary, education in emergency following cyclones Batsirai and Emnati

In Mananjary, in the South-east of Madagascar, Nasma Josée Lovasoaniaina, 13, has just passed her first official exam and been admitted to a college of general education. However, her schooling was fatally damaged by the two violent cyclones Batsirai and Emnati which completely tore the roof off her school and reoriented the organization within her family.

Disruption to the daily life was indeed obvious after these cyclones had wreaked havoc in her village. "My parents are complaining about the few livelihood opportunities after the cyclones, and our schooling for me and my two sisters was a big challenge for the new school year. My school supplies and registration fees, among others, were not foreseen. My parents just enrolled me in school without thinking too much about what's coming next," she recalls.

In a post-disaster context, education-related expenses are postponed or not considered by parents, especially in areas, communes and districts, far from big cities. They are not a priority and very often, children’s well-being is dismissed, and rights are not respected. Households are subject to negative adjustment, which places less emphasis on education spending and focuses more on improving their livelihoods.

It is against this background that UNICEF and its partners, including the Korean National Commission are working to provide post-disaster support. Nasma, like the 339 students (including 171 girls) at her school, could benefit from school supplies to allow her to gradually resume learning. Moreover, he classroom is now operational thanks to a new roof.

Ensure continuity of educational programme and prompt return of students to class

To cope with hazards such as the two cyclones Batsirai and Emnati in 2022, the Regional Directorate of National Education (DREN) in Vatovavy, with the collaboration of UNICEF, is setting up a pre-positioning stock at the regional level. This enabled the first responses to approximately 300 schools in the Mananjary district. Emergency items consisting of metal tents, tarpaulins for temporary classrooms, and "school-in-a-box" kits could be mobilized and distributed to the schools affected.

These UNICEF activities related to Education in Situations of Emergency (ESU) in the Great South East of Madagascar make it possible to play a role for the continuity of the educational programme and a prompt return of the students to school, keep children and adolescents in school and ensure ESU preparedness/response capacity at regional and district level.

All this support is essential for making Nasma’s dream of becoming a doctor come true. She does not want to be held back by this kind of constraint. "My older sister is already in her second year of high school. I will make the necessary efforts to follow her path and move to the High school after College". Already, being in college is a victory. Only three out of 10 girls and boys in primary education manage to move on to lower secondary education.

Such a post-cyclonal situation as in the far South-east of Madagascar is one of the significant additional constraints for parents and for the education of their children that justifies the importance of Education in Situations of Emergency (ESU).