It is five thirty, still dark and time for school. The children don't take a bus or train to school. Instead they must walk for two hours across the countryside. Some pupils are lucky and have a bike. Lessons begin at seven thirty. Ezoel and his sister head out; they want to be on time so they don’t miss any of their lessons. Ezoel and Saida would like to get their high school diploma and go to university. Thankfully, the school in Ambohitsara has made this possible. Here, in no man's land, there is finally an educational institution that is on par with those in the capital city of Antananarivo. The original school here was a small, moldy hut where lessons took place whenever the village teacher had time, which was a few days a week and only until the third grade. After that there was nothing.
The teachers at the HOPE PROJECTS school, as opposed to the village teacher, are state certified or very well educated. It isn't always easy to follow difficult lessons, and the heat (sometimes 38°C without air-conditioning) makes it hard to concentrate.