MEET THE JUNIOR REEF DOCTORS

Our Junior Reef Doctors all live and study in the neighbouring village of Ifaty. We’re keen for you to get to know them all a little better, so here’s a brief introduction………

Marie-Therese

Marie Therese is an eight year-old girl who attends school in Ifaty. Both her grandparents and her parents are from Toliara. Her father is a cook while her mother works at home. Marie’s favourite school subject is French. When she isn’t in school she is either doing homework or helping out with household chores, doing things like collecting well water, laundry, washing up and helping out with the cooking. Her dream job is to become a teacher and her favourite part about being a Junior Reef Doctor is the English classes. She sees fishing and over-exploitation as important reef threats and thinks solutions to the problem involve sanitation.

Fidel

Fidel Gabriel is 12 years old. His father is a cook and his mother works at home and both are from Ifaty. Fidel attends school every day and during his time off he helps with household chores and takes care of his little sister. He hopes to one day be part of the army where he will help catch bandits who steal Zebu. For the moment, his favourite class is French and his favourite part about the Junior Reef Doctor program is English class. Fidel believes that dying corals and the reduction of fish on the coral reef are important threats and that the situation can be improved by avoiding stepping on coral and not removing them to catch fish.

Pascaline

12 year-old Pascaline enjoys history and geography lessons at school in Ifaty. Her dream job would be to become a teacher. Her father is a fisherman and her mother stays at home. Outside of school Pascaline plays with friends and diligently does her laundry and cooking chores while still being able to complete her homework. As a Junior Reef Doctor, she greatly enjoys English class. Her solution to the problem of pollution and over-fishing in the Bay of Ranobe is the restriction of access and reduction of ecosystem abuse. Her parents are both very supportive of her involvement in the program.

Volasoa

Life in Ifaty for Volasoa, a 11 year old girl, consists of going to school everyday and otherwise helping her mother by taking care of her little sister and cleaning the house. Her favourite subject at school is maths while she enjoys English and learning about the environment through the Junior Reef Doctor program. She perceives a lack of respect as the main threat to the marine environment. To solve this, Volasoa suggests raising awareness about reef conservation, especially since her father is a fisherman and relies on the reef to put food on the table. When she has finished her education, Volasoa wants to become a nurse.

Brandoly

Brandoly is a 13 year old boy who is part of the Junior Reef Doctor program. His father is a bricklayer whilst his mother is a fisherwoman. His favourite subject in school is French and when not in school he helps his mother fish. He would like to join the army in the future. During his time with Junior Reef Doctor he enjoys learning English. He also understands that awareness has to be raised about threats to the reef. Brandoly thinks that teaching people not to step on the corals and helping fishermen to understand the problems of over-fishing are good solutions to the problem. Furthermore, he is also keen to share what he learns with his parents who respond positively to this.

Henriette

Living in Ifaty, 13 year-old Henriette’s goals extend in a different direction than her parents; a guardian and a fish vendor, because she wants to become a doctor. She diligently attends school everyday, and when not there she enjoys spending her free time playing or doing her homework. Her favourite subject is French and at Junior Reef Doctor she takes pleasure in learning about the environment. Henriette believes that the solution to the problem of a lack of fish on the reef is simple: fish less.

Nambinintsoa

Nambinintsoa is 11 years old and lives in Ifaty. Being raised solely by his mother, Nambinintsoa manages the house and takes care of his younger siblings when not in school. He attends school everyday and wishes to one day become a doctor. At school his favourite subject is French while he is keen to learn English as part of Junior Reef Doctor. To combat the threat of over-fishing, Nambinintsoa suggests protecting the environment to provide later generations a chance to see the beauty of the marine life. His mother responds positively to his enthusiasm for the Junior Reef Doctor programme.

Sauveline

12 year-old Sauveline enjoys French lessons at school in Ifaty and her dream job would be to become a Professor at university. Outside of school Sauveline plays with friends, enjoys eating and does her homework. Being a Junior Reef Doctor, she greatly enjoys the environmental lessons. Her solution to the problem of seabed destruction in the Bay of Ranobe is to raise awareness among the local people. This is especially true because her father is a fisherman and relies on the productivity of the ocean. Her parents are both very supportive of her involvement in the program.

Andrisia

Andrisia is a twelve year-old girl who attends school in Ifaty. Both her grandparents and her parents are from Ifaty. Her father is a pousse-pousse driver while her mother sells shells. Andrisia goes to school from Monday to Friday and her favourite subject is French. When she isn’t in school she is either doing homework, playing, helping her parents or even selling shells. Her dream job is to become a teacher and her favourite part about being a Junior Reef Doctor is the classes on the environment. She sees the destruction of the reef as the most important threat to the local marine environment and thinks the solution to the problem involves active reef protection.

Lodafara

Living in Ifaty, 10 year-old Lodafara enjoys the french classes at school, a place she one day wishes to work in as a teacher. Her father is a fisherman and her mother sells fish. If Ludafare is not in school, she helps out at home by doing laundry and taking care of her siblings. She is fond of drawing during Reef Doctor classes, and looks forward to drinking juice afterwards. Lodafara considers over-fishing and people stepping on the corals as major reef threats and to combat that, she recommends teaching the villagers about how to protect the reef.

Maevasoa

Maevasoa is a 9 year old girl who lives in Ifaty with her parents. Her father is a village guardian, her mother and grandparents are from Tulear. Maevasoa’s mother stays at home where she helps out by cleaning the house and cooking when she is not in school. Her dream job would be to become a doctor, but for now she enjoys Malagasy classes in school and singing at Reef Doctor. Maevasoa believes that teaching the villagers how to protect the reef will decrease the problem of overfishing and people stepping on corals.

Benedicte

11 year-old Benedicte’s goals extend in a different direction than those of her parents; a fisherman and fish vendor, because she wants to become a teacher. When not in school, Benedicte enjoys playing but still completes her chores of fetching water and sometimes cooking for the family. Her favourite subject in school is mathematics and at Reef Doctor she thoroughly enjoys learning about the environment. Benedicte believes that to stop the cycle of people throwing rubbish onto the beach and then getting sick from fish which have ingested it, proper rubbish disposal should be implemented.

Albertine

Albertine is a twelve year old girl aspiring to be a doctor. Her mother is from Tulear and stays at home while her father is from Ifaty and is a cook. Albertine helps with fetching water, the cooking and the laundry. Outside of home she enjoys playing with her friends. Albertine loves being part of the Junior Reef Doctor program because it teaches her about the environment and more specifically about mangroves and dolphins. She sees over-fishing and beach seining as important reef threats which she thinks could be addressed through the ban of beach seining.

Ivone

Ivone is a nine year old girl who loves learning French. Her parents are both from Ifaty where her father is a fisherman and her mother sells the fish. She attends school every day and when she is at home, Ivone takes care of her siblings if her parents are away. Her favourite part about being a Junior Reef Doctor is learning English. Her dream would be to become a teacher and she thinks that increasing awareness of the negative impacts of stepping on corals will prevent the destruction of the homes of smaller fish.

Celestine

Celestine is a young girl from Ifaty who hopes to one day become a doctor. She attends school every day, where her favourite subjects include both French and English. When she is not in school, Celestine plays with her friends in the village or helps her parents around the house. She strongly believes that beach seining should be forbidden as it is a significant threat to the coral reef in the Bay of Ranobe.