«One Wish» – Madagascar
Pascaline from Antanarivo
Age: 30
Job: unemployed
What makes you happy?
to speak with my family and to listen to music
What makes you sad?
if I can not talk with my boyfriend
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to find a job and to have a family with 3 children
Encounter: Pascaline was travelling to Ambalavao to see her family and I had a nice conversation with her.
Marcel from Ialatsara
Age: 52
Job: Guide, caretaker of the forest
What makes you happy?
to be in the forest
What makes you sad?
nothing
If you had one wish, what would it be?
Life is beautiful
Encounter: Marcel was our guide at the parc and we found lemures & chameleons with him.
Adriano from Ambalavao
Age: 46
Job: guide and former teacher
What makes you happy?
to be in the nature
What makes you sad?
people who don´t respect the nature & destroy it
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to travel outside of Madagascar (America, Australia, Spain)
Encounter: Adriano was our guide in Anja Park. We met him at the hotel we were staying at and we were impressed about his level of English.
Mosa from Ambalavao
Age: 22
Job: caretaker of the park
What makes you happy?
to be with my family
What makes you sad?
people stealing
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to travel around Magadascar (no money)
Encounter: Mosa was helping Adriano to find the animals in the parc.
Augustin from Amboha
Age: 25
Job: guide and former porter
What makes you happy?
lots of things
What makes you sad?
when my friends are not happy
If you had one wish, what would it be?
create a family and to have one daugther
Encounter: Augustin was the official guide for the Andringitra Parc and he was joing us on our 2 day trekking with Gege. He always had a big smile on his face.
Gege from Ambalavao
Age: 31
Job: guide from Ambalavao
What makes you happy?
to see when my children are happy
What makes you sad?
when my children are crying
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to have my own trekking company one day
Encounter: Gege was our guide on the 3 days trekking in Andringitra.
Mariange from Sarodrano
Age: 45
Job: employee of the hotel
What makes you happy?
when other people are happy
What makes you sad?
when a member of my family is doing bad
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to earn more money to have a good life
Encounter: Mariange was responsible for housekeeping at the lodge and also worked in the service. She has such a wonderful smile.
Jose from Fianarantsoa
Age: 22
Job: pastry chef
What makes you happy?
I love to cook, especially to make pastries
What makes you sad?
nothing
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I would like to have my own restaurant one day
Encounter: We met Jose in a cozy litte restaurant in the old town of Fianarantsao where he works as a pastry chef. We tasted his delicious brownies.
Julien from Fianarantsoa
Age: 18
Job: student and local guide
What makes you happy?
to study and to learn new things
What makes you sad?
if somebody hurts me or a family member is sick
If you had one wish, what would it be?
the wishes you don’t tell, otherwise they won’t be fulfilled
Encounter: Julien found us in the old town and offered us a guided tour in order to help to finance the school. He speaks 4 languages: Malagache, French, English, Spanish and a few words of Italian and German. A very interesting and intelligent young guy.
Maelle from Morondava
Age: 20
Job: student and teacher in the bush (internship)
What makes you happy?
my family makes me happy
What makes you sad?
when my father is too hard on me
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I would like to be a famous comedian
Encounter: We met Maella at the beach of Morondava where he started to talk to us. Crazy guy!
Mario from Madagascar
Age: 49
Job: project manager of rural development in Morondava
What makes you happy?
to be successful in my job and to realize my projects
What makes you sad?
I am very ambitious and if I can’t realize a project or if something goes wrong
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to be elected in February for a higher position
Encounter: We met Mario at the beach of Morondava where he started to talk to us. It was quite an interesting conversation about his work and the fishermen of Morondava.
Nene from Antsirabe
Age: 47
Job: national guide
What makes you happy?
love and friendship
What makes you sad?
if I can´t help people I love because my financial means are limited
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to be able to work independant and to have my own 4×4 car
Encounter: we met Nene through a contact in Antsirabe and he was driving us from there to Manakara with a stopover in Ranomafana. He explained us lots of things about life in Madagascar.
Marie from Menakara
Age: 48
Job: pharmacist
What makes you happy?
to work in the pharmacy
What makes you sad?
not to earn enough money
If you had one wish, what would it be?
that my five children will be able to study
Encounter: we met Marie as we needed to do a phone call and she was so kind to lend us her phone (we gave her 1000 Ariary). Afterwards, she always had a big smile on her face when we were passing by the pharmacy.
Zafinirina from Manakara
Job: student, Jeunes AIC
What makes you happy?
to study
What makes you sad?
thinking of my mother who died a few years ago
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to find work and to earn money in order to be able to look for my sister and brother
Encounter: we met Zafinirina at the centre of AIC Madagascar. Together with Jean-Louis they explained us what kind of work AIC Madagascar is doing and that the centre was taking care of them when they were small children.
Jean-Louis from Manakara
Age: 19
Job: student, Jeunes AIC
What makes you happy?
to pray and to study
What makes you sad?
missing means to live
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to study in order to become a guide
Encounter: we met Jean-Louis at the centre of AIC Madagascar. He has come here as an orphant with 6 years and the centre supports him for his studies and living. He is now a volounteer in the centre.
Madame Rose from Manakara
Age: 65
Job: founder of AIC Madagascar
What makes you happy?
to help people, especially children
What makes you sad?
if I can not help
If you had one wish, what would it be?
a change for a better Madagascar
Encounter: we heard about Madame Rose at AIC Madagascar and went to her house to meet her. There, we had an interesting conversation which convinced us to donate money. The next day, she showed us the centre and we got to meet all the volounteers and the children.
Patricia from Manakara
Age: 50
Job: owner/manager hotel «La Vanille»
What makes you happy?
people that appreciate what I am doing – I love to make people happy
What makes you sad?
if people don’t appreciate my work
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I wish that my three daughters are going to be happy forever
Encounter: we met Patricia in the hotel «La Vanille» in Manakara that she owns and manages together with her husband Gerard. It is an amazing couple and we felt imediately like at home. What they do, they do with lots of passion.
Herman from Andasibe
Age: 43
Job: guide in Andasibe
What makes you happy?
to show my three children the forest and to teach them about nature
What makes you sad?
if people don’t take care about nature
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I would like to have a bigger house
Encounter: Herman was our guide in the parc and showed us many plants and animals. The highlight was an Indi Indri family we followed for over two hours.
Aina from Antanarivo
Age: 50
Job: owner of guesthouse Chez Aina in Tana
What makes you happy?
to share
What makes you sad?
stupidity of humankind
If you had one wish, what would it be?
see the world to change for better
Encounter: Aina was our first and last host in Madagascar. She has a lovely and charming guest house in Tana.