Credit: SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde

On Monday 15 January 2024, Luxembourg-based SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde reported that the Zonta Club (ZC) Esch-sur-Alzette has donated €5,000 to the non-profit for a school in southern Madagascar.

President Danièle Lucius and other members of ZC Esch-sur-Alzette presented a cheque for €5,000 to Sophie Glesener, Director of SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde, at the Bosque FeVi restaurant. This amount resulting from the sale of decorations during the club's Christmas market will go to a public school in the south of Madagascar which will be equipped with real classrooms at the start of this year.

On the occasion of its traditional "Advents-Patt", held in Mondercange at the end of November 2023, ZC Esch-sur-Alzette decided to support two Luxembourg associations, including SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde. The sale of Advent wreaths and handcrafted Christmas decorations made by club members, among others, allowed ZC Esch-sur-Alzette, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, to raise funds for a charitable cause.

The €5,000 donated to SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde will go to a school in the south of Madagascar to guarantee its pupils an inclusive and quality education. At the heart of this project is the education and retention of girls in school, a concern which echoes those of Zonta which advocates for respect for the rights of girls and women and for their empowerment.

With few brick-and-mortar classrooms, the Tanandava public school will soon be able to offer its young primary school pupils a good learning environment, noted SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde. A project to build and fit out two classrooms with latrines, started last November, is set to be finalised at the start of 2024. Alongside the education component, the project has enabled members of the community to benefit from professional training, particularly in masonry, and temporary employment on the construction site.