![\"DSC_0109\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/DSC_0109.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Two young volunteers lug a bag of supplies to a cement bench and quietly confer over a stack of French-style notebooks decorated with the image of a ring-tailed lemur, or “maki.” \u00a0They give the kids a folded vinyl tarp, which they spread out. \u00a0It happens to be a large tube, so they take a few minutes gleefully crawling through it. \u00a0Blue lanyards are handed out to identify the kids who officially form part of the program from the kids who just wander by and decide this looks like fun. \u00a0Some of the students carry young siblings. \u00a0They too receive a lanyard, so they don’t feel left out.<\/p>\nThis is Teach for Madagascar<\/a>, a group of volunteers that provides educational services to kids who otherwise are unable, usually for financial reasons, to attend school in Madagascar. \u00a0The kids get a few hours, a couple of times a week. \u00a0They soak it up like sponges.<\/p>\n The second part of today’s lesson is all about dental hygiene. \u00a0Everyone receives a toothbrush, which they wet and dip into a bag of wood ash, which was used to clean and whiten teeth in many parts of the world before toothpaste became available.<\/p>\n They grimace from the taste, but apply the tooth brushing techniques they’ve just been taught. \u00a0They get to keep the brushes. \u00a0Soon, another Saturdays classes draw to a close as a few parents begin appearing to take their kids home. \u00a0Others will make their way home on their own, taking young siblings by the hand and carefully guiding them through the traffic that continues to circle around their makeshift classroom.<\/p>\n Visit www.teach4madagascar.blogspot. <\/a>The kids are curious about the two camera-wielding foreigners who have showed up this week. \u00a0They strike poses and jump in front of the camera in an effort to be photographed. \u00a0Eventually they settle down and forget about us. \u00a0They are divided into two groups. \u00a0The younger kids are given plastic slates and chalk, and they learn about letters and the sounds they make. \u00a0The older kids are spelling longer words and learning basic phrases in French – a language they would ordinarily learn in school, and one which will prove critical in their adult life, but until now they have rarely used. \u00a0About 50 feet away, a homeless man sleeps under a bush. \u00a0Laundry is drying on the grass as traffic continues to circle the small park. \u00a0For a couple of hours, the kids are focused on learning.<\/p>\n<\/a>A man comes by with a large metal pot. \u00a0A few of the kids have a few crumpled Malagasy bills, and he serves them a bowl of a rice-based dish that looks a lot like oatmeal. \u00a0They step to the side and quickly eat, handing back the bowl when they are done. \u00a0A bit of water is poured in the bowl, he swishes it around and throws it out. \u00a0Fills it with the next serving for another kid.<\/p>\n<\/a>Suddenly, car horns honking. \u00a0A wedding!! \u00a0A dozen cars, all honking, follow another festooned with flowers and a happy couple inside. \u00a0Most of the kids run over to see the happy bride and groom. \u00a0Then they’re back on the tarp, to hear what their “zoky” (big brother\/big sister in Malagasy), or teacher, has to offer them next.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n