Madagascar
"Bad'agascar" - The shuttlecocks of dignity
Location: This project is located on the outskirts of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, the third poorest country in the world.
Program start date: 2022
Date of partnership with SOLIBAD: 2022
Number of children/families reached: Approximately 50 children for the first phase in early 2022.
Amount invested by Solibad in this program: €4,000 in 2022
The program in details :
This project, in partnership with the association 2400sourires, aims to restore the dignity of children in Madagascar's most disadvantaged rural villages and street children and to help them rebuild their lives through sport - specifically badminton.
We have teamed up with our wonderful friends at 2400sourires, who have a local presence and are implementing a major program to help street children, with a strong emphasis on sport. At the beginning of 2022, the Association was already working with neglected children in the village of Ambohidratrimo, close to the site where the land was purchased for the construction of the ‘village of smiles’ in mid-2022. This village will take in street children from the capital, of whom there are 2,400 sleeping rough every day, according to local statistics.
Solibad started the program in February 2022, setting up badminton sessions for the children served by the 2400 Smiles partner community. The sessions were an incredible success with children who had never held a racket in their hands, and very quickly the many traumas seemed to melt away in the space of a few hours. Badminton was played every day in the middle of rice fields, just a few weeks after the devastation caused by the cyclone and floods, in addition to the frequent family dramas in this rural area, particularly affected by poverty and insalubrity, with no direct access to drinking water.
A strong partnership has therefore been established between the 2400 Sourires Association and Solibad, to continue this activity, which goes far beyond play and aims in the long term to offer a real space for healing - physical or psychological - to the children in the program, first those of Ambohidratrimo, and then the street children who will be taken in at the Village of the Sourires, a few kilometers away, with a sports center, which is of paramount importance for the reconstruction of the children.
Since the beginning of this adventure, we have been fortunate to have the support of one of the country's best athletes, Miangola Razafinimanana, a law student who was recently crowned Madagascar's mixed doubles champion. She supervised the children during the first sessions and will be responsible for the educational and technical content of future sessions, which will be held twice a week for the children.
It is possible for associations and individuals to sponsor one of the street children of the Village des Sourires through Solibad (on a collective basis, not individually). More information will follow, but you can contact us below if you're interested in being part of this wonderful human adventure.
In 2025 :
July was a real turning point for one of our most symbolic projects: the Village des Sourires in Madagascar.
After two years of problems, twists and turns, floods and endless administrative procedures, the project is finally entering its concrete phase. And we won't hide our excitement.
Thanks to technical support from 2400 Sourires' partner, COLAS, work on the sports centre has finally begun. The facility will eventually host a number of sports, including climbing and, of course, badminton.
But above all, it is a place designed for the village children, all of whom were once street children, who will be able to practise regularly, improve their skills... and dream.
It will also be a space for coaching courses, international exchanges, and perhaps even... sports and solidarity trips combining badminton and field activities. And that's not all: the heart of the village is also taking shape.
Four children's houses are already ready: freshly painted, beds installed, doors fitted.
The other four will follow by the end of August, to welcome the next children in the best possible conditions.
This project is moving forward thanks to the tenacity and incredible energy of our local partners, the association 2400 Sourires. A committed, persevering and deeply humane team to whom we owe a great deal.
It is a great collective victory... and this is only the beginning.
Solibad launched the programme in February 2022, setting up badminton sessions for children cared for by the partner parish of 2400 Smiles. The sessions were a huge success with the children, who had never held a racket before, and very quickly, their many traumas seemed to melt away in a matter of hours.
Every day, badminton was played in the middle of the rice fields, just a few weeks after the devastation caused by the cyclone and floods, in addition to the frequent family tragedies in this rural area particularly affected by poverty and poor sanitation, with no direct access to drinking water.
The support provided enabled 45 children per week to play badminton on Wednesday evenings with the sole aim of promoting social inclusion.
An innovative nutrition programme for street children was developed in response to the country's political situation. It reaches an average of 15 babies born and living on the streets and 25 to 40 children under the age of 14, twice a week. It enables children to benefit from improved nutrition and a more stable lifestyle.
In line with this, a ‘baby bottle scooter’ has been created to facilitate the delivery of baby bottles to babies and to develop personalised social and nutritional support.
