In Nosy Be, a widow’s donation has transformed a family inheritance into a collective legacy. A new school with six classrooms has just been inaugurated in the isolated village of Antsatrabevoa.
Education is gaining ground in the most remote areas of Nosy Be. The Italian association IAM (I Aid Madagascar) continues its fight for access to education in the island’s most landlocked regions. On Saturday, it inaugurated its 21st school in Nosy Be.
Located in the isolated fokontany of Antsatrabevoa, in the Befotaka district, the new infrastructure aims to provide better learning conditions for children in a locality long faced with isolation and a lack of school equipment. The scene held strong symbolic significance. In this remote village, where access to school infrastructure remains difficult, children, parents, teachers, and local officials gathered to inaugurate the new school.
The choice of Antsatrabevoa was not trivial for the association led by Roberto Ricci, who tirelessly pursues his efforts in favor of education in Nosy Be. However, the village’s geographical isolation posed an additional obstacle. The poor state of access roads made transporting materials and preparing the site particularly complex. “Transport was only possible by truck and dhow,” stated the IAM president.
To overcome this difficulty, the association benefited from the support of the Diana region, which provided machinery to carry out the necessary earthworks, both on the access road and on the site intended to house the school.
This support explains the presence of the regional head, General Louis Francio Marovavy, at the ceremony. He also called on parents to fully realize the value of this new infrastructure and to make the schooling of their children a priority.
The inauguration of this new school took on a special dimension. Behind the walls of this establishment lies a personal story that has become a collective one. After the death of her husband, the widow, Rosaria Santagata, sold part of her assets and decided to allocate a portion to finance the construction of a school in this remote locality. A generous gesture of solidarity that goes far beyond the family framework to benefit an entire community. More than just funding to build classrooms, this donation constitutes an investment in the future of several generations of children. What could have remained a family inheritance has thus become a legacy for an entire community.
The new modern establishment consists of two buildings totaling six classrooms. The first building, covering an area of 24 by 10 meters, includes four classrooms and was financed by the donation from Rosaria Santagata. The second, measuring 12 by 10 meters, includes two classrooms and was donated by the association Assosoftware, led by its president Roberto Bellini. They traveled to Madagascar to attend the inauguration ceremony. In total, the construction of the two buildings represents an investment of 200 million ariary.
Before this achievement, children in the village sometimes had to travel long distances to reach their school. The fokontany only had a private school built essentially with local materials, notably “satrana” leaves. A situation that weighs particularly on the youngest and can contribute to absenteeism or school dropout.
Beyond the official ceremony, the inauguration of this school conveys a strong message: the most beautiful inheritance is not necessarily the one we keep, but the one we pass on.
Captured & Published at: 2026-09-08 05:53:34 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/09/nosy-be-le-don-dune-veuve-fait-naitre.html