A smile can change the world: Children in Madagascar

In a village in Madagascar, 8,976 kilometres from Australia, a group of small children scamper through the rubbish dump with bare feet. Their clothes were torn with holes, tiny hands digging for a toy.

They are children from a remote village in Madagascar, most from families living below the poverty line, some are even orphans. Still, nothing can hide their pure smiles and innocent eyes behind their dusty faces.

However, the establishment of a school has changed children's destiny. This humble school was built with concrete and has become a place the children could never have imagined.

The handmade tables and chairs are simple and arranged neatly in the classroom. The walls are painted blue, the colour of hope, just like children’s future belongs to the blue sky behind the village. One day, they will walk out of this little village with all the knowledge they have gained in the school.

Children have English classes at Meraki Smile School Madagascar. (AP Photo: Miriam Agüero)

Miriam Agüero, a 23-year-old Spanish woman who travelled past this little village, decided to build the non-profit school with a 23-year-old Madagascar man named Aina Notiavina.

They met during Miss Agüero's trip to Madagascar, and from the very first time they talked, their destiny was entwined for this life project. This is how Meraki Smile School was born.

Meraki Smile School was the first non-profit school located in Madagascar and officially opened in September this year through the donations of the GoFundMe campaign.

The school now has 30 students, including 15 boys and 15 girls around the age of six. These students are children living in the neighbourhood.

Many of the children studying at Meraki Smile School are orphans, homeless, or vulnerable. (AP Photo: Miriam Agüero)

Children were selected around the age of six because the IB program started between ages six to 19. This program is a worldwide, non-profit education program that allows all students to receive an education fit for a globalising world.

Rakoto Arimanana, one of the teachers at Meraki Smile School, said the kids had never been to school before. “They don't know how to write or read, they can't even recognise their names when it's written down," Mr Arimanana said.

To help the children successfully join the IB program, they need to develop a high level of English skills. In addition, the school partnered up with the Oxford press, using textbooks named First Friends to learn English.

An ordinary day for students at Meraki Smile School begins with a warm shower in the morning and changes of clean clothes and shoes. "Most of the kids do not have access to clothes, some of them don't even wear underwear, so we bought clothes for each one of them," Miss Agüero said.

"I have always said that I didn't want to go to Africa and be seen as the white European person that comes and wants to fix everything," Miss Agüero said. The first day of Agüero's arrival was challenging for herself and the local villagers in Madagascar.

"The moment they saw me, they were shocked. Some of the kids were actually crying because they get these stories that white people are not good people, and they tell this kind of story to scare kids," she said.

Miriam Agüero, the founder of Meraki Smile School, built the school for children coming from families below the poverty line in Madagascar. (AP Photo: Miriam Agüero)

Miss Agüero said that after a speech explaining the reason behind building the school in the village, the locals were no longer paralysed by fear of her visit, instead, they celebrated with applause.

Mr Arimanana said, "I saw them suffering... It's really hard here in Madagascar for kids to survive as the family cannot support the students going to school, even for the food and water.”

In Madagascar, the education system is fragmented. “Even with schools providing free education opportunities, parents would still send their kids to earn money rather than go to school,” Mr Arimanana said.

Alex Andy Ramboatiana, a consultant at the Presidency of the Republic of Madagascar, reinforced that education is such a powerful tool that can transform people’s lives.

“We are helping a whole generation of kids who might, at such a young age, feel like they’ve run out of luck. Help us to prove to them that there is a better way ahead,” he said.

Meraki Smile School’s official website. (AP Photo: Miriam Agüero)

A school was born, built on a meagre and barren wasted rubbish dump. After the establishment of Meraki Smile School, Miss Agüero left Madagascar to her home country of Spain.

Miss Agüero said a little boy came to her and suddenly gave her a big hug on the last day of her stay, and the rest of the children began hugging her as well.

"I was like wow, how much has changed just by spending time with kids...we were all running together and playing. At the end of the day, that's why I do what I do because I want them to smile and be happy," Miss Agüero said.