2008.06.06: June 6, 2008: Headlines: COS - Madagascar: Suwanee Democrat: Maureen Maloney reports from Madagascar

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Madagascar: Peace Corps Madagascar : Peace Corps Madagascar: Newest Stories: 2008.06.06: June 6, 2008: Headlines: COS - Madagascar: Suwanee Democrat: Maureen Maloney reports from Madagascar

By Admin1 (admin) (70.250.245.178) on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 11:22 pm: Edit Post

Maureen Maloney reports from Madagascar

Maureen Maloney reports from Madagascar

"I am here to teach about the environment, and to provide ways in which the people can protect the environment, while still being able to provide for themselves and their families. I live on the southwest coast of Madagascar, where the people of the Vezo tribe have been fishing for generations. Unfortunately overuse is destroying delicate ecosystems. There are three big culprits: Increasing population is causing over fishing, the shell industry is causing people to go out onto the reef to take live shells to sell to tourists, and people are destroying the seagrass beds in order to collect sea cucumbers, which are sold at very high prices in Asia. The danger to the Vezo people is that they will eventually be unable to depend on the ocean, and they have no other skills or means of supporting themselves. I have a few projects that I am currently working on. One is environmental education for youth. This involves creating a curriculum for the schools and training teachers. Another is alternative income development. I am involved in training women in the area skills, such as embroidery and jam making, so that they can sell handmade products to tourists. I hope to eventually help them build a boutique in the village. In order to improve farming in the area, I have an experimental plot which I will use to teach improved farming techniques. I am inviting farming organizations from other areas to come and teach the farmers here ways to increase crop yield. Finally, I am working with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) such as WWF (WorldWildlifeFund) and ReefDoctor, which are surveying the coral reefs and organizing villagers to create protected areas and promote ecotourism. "

Maureen Maloney reports from Madagascar

Report from Madagascar

An interview with Peace Corps volunteer and Suwannee High grad Maureen Maloney

By Jeff Waters, Democrat Reporter

Maureen Maloney is a 1997 Suwannee High School graduate who's serving with the Peace Corps over in Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, located off the eastern coast of Africa. The following interview was conducted with Maloney by Democrat reporter Jeff Waters via email.

Jeff Waters - What are you doing in Madagascar with the Peace Corps? What is the goal?

Maureen Maloney - I am here to teach about the environment, and to provide ways in which the people can protect the environment, while still being able to provide for themselves and their families. I live on the southwest coast of Madagascar, where the people of the Vezo tribe have been fishing for generations. Unfortunately overuse is destroying delicate ecosystems. There are three big culprits: Increasing population is causing over fishing, the shell industry is causing people to go out onto the reef to take live shells to sell to tourists, and people are destroying the seagrass beds in order to collect sea cucumbers, which are sold at very high prices in Asia. The danger to the Vezo people is that they will eventually be unable to depend on the ocean, and they have no other skills or means of supporting themselves.

I have a few projects that I am currently working on. One is environmental education for youth. This involves creating a curriculum for the schools and training teachers. Another is alternative income development. I am involved in training women in the area skills, such as embroidery and jam making, so that they can sell handmade products to tourists. I hope to eventually help them build a boutique in the village. In order to improve farming in the area, I have an experimental plot which I will use to teach improved farming techniques. I am inviting farming organizations from other areas to come and teach the farmers here ways to increase crop yield. Finally, I am working with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) such as WWF (WorldWildlifeFund) and ReefDoctor, which are surveying the coral reefs and organizing villagers to create protected areas and promote ecotourism.

JW - Where is Peace Corps located? When did you join?

MM - PC headquarters is in Washington DC. I applied in July 2006, and was invited in December 2007.

JW - Tell me about Peace Corps. What are your duties?

MM - I don't really have specific duties, other than completing quarterly reports. I work with my community to evaluate their needs. Then I provide them with the training and expertise they need to achieve their goals.

JW - How did you get involved with Peace Corps?

MM - I found out about P.C. when I was an undergraduate at the University of South Florida, and instantly fell in love with it. It allows me to travel and learn another culture and language, help others, and represent my country in a positive and uplifting way.

JW - When did you go to Madagascar?

MM - I came to Madagascar on February 22, 2008, and I will be here until May 2010.

JW - What is the name of the place you are located?

MM - I am not allowed to give specific info, but I am on the southwest coast.

JW - What is the weather like over there?

MM - My area is called the spiny desert. It is very dry and hot. However, the east coast of Madagascar is rain forest, and receives over 300 days of rain a year.

JW - What is the culture like?

MM - Each area is unique. In my area on the Southwest coast, the people are fishermen, and life revolves around the ocean. Most people in Madagascar are Christian, but it is blended with the ancient religion of animism, in which ancestors are highly revered. There are also many 'fadys' or taboos in this culture. My host family during training did not go outside at night because of witches. As soon as the sun sets they bolt up all the windows and doors. Since the latrine is outside, they have small buckets they keep in their room to go to the bathroom in at night.

JW - How many people are over there with you with the Corps? Is it more than

one Corps?

MM - In Madagascar, there are around 150 volunteers, and there are four different sectors- education, health, environment, and small business development.

JW-When did you graduate High school?

MM-I graduated from Suwannee High in 1997.

JW - What college or university did you attend?

MM - I attended the University of South Florida, in Tampa, from 1997-2001, and received a bachelor's in biology. I attended Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Ariz. from 2004-2007, and received a master's in biology.

JW - I was told you were part of a replacement group over there. Tell me about that?

MM - Every spring a new group of environmental volunteers comes to Madagascar, and shortly after that the people completing their second year leave, although many request to extend their service for a third year. Sometime new volunteers replace old volunteers, but some people are placed at new sites. My site is new, and there aren't many volunteers in the southwest.

JW - What is there about you that people might find particularly interesting? How about anything funny?

MM - Well, most people get a kick out of how many different jobs I've had. During college I worked at restaurants a lot, as a server, busser, host and eventually as a pastry chef. I've worked as a guide at the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa, and at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. I've been a veterinary technician, a life guard and swim teacher at the YMCA, a ski patroller at the Arizona Snowbowl, and a jeep tour guide in Sedona, Ariz. I've been a back country guide, taking inner-city youth into the White mountains of Arizona, and I've done wetland restoration in Utah. At Northern Arizona University I taught Vertebrate Zoology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, and Wilderness First Responder. I also took a digital film making course with the Travel Channel, and have worked as a freelance videographer.

JW - What about hobbies, sports, games etc.

MM - In high school I played volleyball and soccer. In college I played rugby. I love snow boarding, rock climbing, mountain biking and surfing. I pretty much love anything I can do outdoors.

JW - What are your plans for the future?

MM - One of the things about Peace Corps is that it opens up many doors. At this point of my life, the possibilities are endless. I just try to focus on the now, fully enjoying my time here, learning, growing, and making as much of a positive impact as I can.

JW - Tell me something that others might not know about you. Do you have any unusual talents?

MM - I don't know...I do sort of have a wig fetish. I got rid of everything I owned when I joined the PC, but before that I had a huge wig collection - bright pink, bright orange, purple wigs, fro wigs, you name it.

JW - How does one serve as a Peace Corps volunteer?

MM - In order to serve as a volunteer you must have either a bachelor's degree, or many years of work experience. There is no age limit. You commit to serving for two years. Before you begin your 2 years of service, there is a three-month in-country training period, in which you live with a host family, learn the language and culture and train for the job you will be serving.

Maloney adds the following information about her host country:

A little note about Madagascar. It is the fourth largest island in the world. The original inhabitants came from islands in east Asia, but since then many people from other places have come (Africa, India). Consequently, there are 18 different tribes on the island, each with their own general area. They all speak Malagasy, but each version of Malagasy is slightly (and sometimes greatly) different. In the north, where there is a lot of tourism, there is a lot more French influence on the language. In every area of the island, those who make it to high school learn to speak French, but it is expensive to send your child to school, so not many people do. Madagascar is known to have the highest number of endemic species in the world (species that only exist on this island), but there is also a lot of microendemism (species that only exist in one small area). I think this can be correlated to the people who live here also, because the people in each area are so different from the people in other areas, even in the way they look. Mada is considered an African country, but the people don't consider themselves African because they have such a unique culture. They are simply Malagasy, and no other place on earth is like it.



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Headlines: June, 2008; Peace Corps Madagascar; Directory of Madagascar RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Madagascar RPCVs





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Story Source: Suwanee Democrat

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