Bus Stop project is scaling up

In 2014, we officially moved to Androhibe at a rented place with a big garden to host the children for our community arts class. We were able to scale up the Bus Stop Project (now called, Education days) thanks to a grant offered by the French Embassy in Madagascar. This grant presented us with multiple opportunities to serve the children: more communities reached (Androhibe, Ivandry and Alarobia), photography classes and multiple field trips for the kids.

Bus Stop: The beginning

The Bus stop project was our first ever activity when we just started in 2013. It consisted of an open art-class that we held at a local bus stop on Tuesdays and Thursdays using an old phonebooth base as table. We would bring arts supplies to the bus stop and the children who were begging around the nearby mall would come along and practice arts and basic literacy skills with us. As our classes grew popular, we quickly went from 6 shy children to more than 50. Due to security reason and the interest the community had on our initiative, we decided to fundraise to get ourselves a permanent space. Thanks to Laura Perry's family donation, we were able to secure a new space for our activity in Androhibe. 

Hay Kanto featuring WWF Madagascar

In 2014, Hay Kanto partnered with WWF Madagascar to host and itinerary wildlife photography exhibition: "Regard sur Madagascar". As part of the partnership, we have organized an arts fair for the Grand Opening of our arts gallery space featuring WWF photography collection and we also held series of educational activities with the kids on the theme of wildlife and conservation during which WWF's photographs would be exhibited as well for visitors to enjoy. 

Photo credit: from WWF Madagascar album

Partnership with Exxon Mobil
 
Thanks to a partnership with Exxon Mobil in Madagascar in 2015, we were able to give more specific classes to other group of children of youth such as a special arts class for children and youth with intellectual disabilityand this was on top of the education days we would usually have with the street children.

I play, I Learn
 
I play, I learn was Hay Kanto's largest activity. It was supported by Oak Foundation and McLarney Construction. This project consisted of play-based education supports for underprivileged children in seven different centers and charity schools in Antananarivo, Madagascar. I play I learn reached 1,600 children yearly for 3 years and was entirely piloted and supervised by our volunteer friend, Cecile Collas and her team.

Hay Kanto featuring Unicef Madagascar

On several occasion, we had the opportunity to collaborate with UNICEF Madagascar for essential events around community education. During the polio Outbreak in 2015 and 2016, Hay Kanto kids organized series of arts-based events with UNICEF during which our children would perform for their communities to sensitize them about the importance of being alive, healthy and vaccinated against polio.  Our collaboration with UNICEF started then until now. We worked together during the Plague outbreak in 2017 and also on their major promotional event the "Journey of the life of the child" during which Hay Kanto set up and ran their "child play and learn space".

Girls' wellness club

During the glabal COVID pandemic, our volunteer friends Georgina Reilly and Jennifer Fitia, two students from the American School of Antananarivo, started the "The Girl Wellness club" with the distribution of re-usable, washable sanitary pads for our girls to help alleviate period poverty in our community. This initiative soon after turned into a "mental health club" where our girls would safely meet, discuss and exchange about their wellbeing and how they cope with the worry and stress caused by the pandemic.

Hay Kanto's contribution to the Great South of Madagascar during to the Hunger Crisis 

In 2021, moved by the life-threatening hunger crisis in the Great South of Madagascar, Hay Kanto partnered with a local business owner in Beloha Androy, Mme Delice and Caticia our proxy, to serve extremely underprivileged children from a local church. Hay Kanto donated to arts supplies and food packages for their very Sunday school.

Hay Kanto Arts Shows with Dzama Cocktail Café and friends

To fundraise for our activities with the children and our operational costs, Hay Kanto used to host arts sales featuring Malagasy and few international artists. Proceeds would be split in two. Half of which would go to our partner artists and the remaining half for our charity work. Most of our shows were jointly organized with Dzama Cocktail Café who generously partnered with us on those events. Our last show was in 2019 in Nosy Be at the Tamana Guest house. Due to Covid, we have cancelled on that activity until present.   

Youth Full of Hope with Grandir Dignement

Youth full of hope is a post-carceral resilience program led by Hay Kanto in concert with Grandir Dignement (GD) our implementing partner. Youth full of hope gave counselling sessions and vocational training for the youth as they learn to own their life back after harsh prison time. Additionally, we also provided continuous capacity building sessions on "post-carceral care" to our implementing partner.