My adventure in Madagascar
A couple of weeks ago I travelled from South-Africa to Madagascar. I went there for a few Correctbook meetings, but this way I could also chase my personal dream (more about that later in this blog). I had some introductory talks with UNICEF Madagascar and Save The Children in the capital Antanarivo.
I also had a meeting with another non-profit organization. Not in the capital, but in the south of the country; Port Dauphin/Tolagnaro. A blueprint is made for a pilot project for 150 children. And obviously this will become more when this succeeds, ‘cause this organisation supports over 40.000 children. They want to conduct small-scale research. If the writing skills of the kids will truly improve with the use of Correctbook. So, a bit like the research by Edukans.
When I’m writing this it has been two weeks that I arrived in Anakao. A small fisher town in Madagascar, which is primarily reachable by boat. Like I said before; it’s also time for my personal dream now; living a life as simple as possible in solitude. A real introvert, that’s me. An einzelgänger is what they call me sometimes. I actually do love it; being on my own. No notifications, no planning. Just my thoughts and me. That’s why I’ve always dreamed of staying in a place where you basically have nothing. Anakao is that place.
Because of the remoteness there are few people around. There are some bungalow hotels, some locals and a few fisher boats. That’s it! There is no supermarket, no ATM. With a pile of cash, enough for a month, I got on the boat. Within no time I found out that there are two restaurants within walking distance. Being a vegetarian, I cannot order anything of the menu but the people are super friendly and they always have a lot of choice. I even have the option to ship some food on the same boat they ship their deliveries. Some yoghurt and some energy bars. Love it, my favourite snacks. I’m staying in a bungalow on the beach, with a few bungalows next to me.
The world is very slow around here and that’s exactly what I wanted to experience. During the day I’m working for Correctbook Africa. At this moment we’re analysing printers with whom we want to collaborate. And apart from that, nothing planned! With no agenda, I notice how relaxed I am. In my bed I listen to the sounds of the sea, after which I fall asleep like a baby. Apart from the few people around, there are a lot of animals. I always just let them be in my bungalow. In the first week I had a few friends; a butterfly in my bedroom, a salamander in the kitchen and a cockroach in my living room. Now, a week later the team changed, a millipede in the living room, a frog in my bedroom and a snake in my garden. Yeah, so the millipede had to go, ‘cause you can get really ill if you touch it.
A simple life. The people are fishing here every day to earn a living. I realize that I really like it when life is simple. It keeps me grounded and focussed. Life is perfect for me this way. A small house at the beach and I’m a happy man. This way I can focus on work, in which we put a lot of energy to make the world a slightly better place. Here I am, sitting in my beach house. Staring at the sea, the fishing boats, and the stars for hours. My thoughts are clear. A simple life, sounds kinda boring, but for me it’s pretty exciting.
