Meylou’s impact in 2025
When I committed myself to finding hearing aids for a deaf girl in my rural Malagasy community in February of 2024, I had no idea it would lead me to start a nonprofit organization to help other children like her. For months, I searched for a program or nonprofit organization in the Fianarantsoa region of Madagascar that might help a child with hearing loss, and I found none.
None except for SEMAFI, a small, struggling school for the deaf.
I began visiting the school regularly after the girl from my community became a boarding student there in January 2025. The more time I spent at the school, the more I liked what I saw: bright, well-adjusted students who were eager to learn and passionate staff who were doing whatever it took to keep their school open.
I learned that although SEMAFI had the capacity to enroll more students, they didn’t have the funds. That after years of narrowly getting by, the school had little money to invest in facility improvements. Meylou was born out of my efforts to help the school address these challenges.
In our first year working with SEMAFI, we’ve accomplished far more than I could have dreamed. Together, we’ve created a sponsorship program that supports the education of nine students, giving more children the opportunity to study in school, learn sign language, and build community among their peers. We’ve completed several key facility projects to improve the health, safety, and educational experience of students and staff at SEMAFI, with others in progress.
None of this would have been possible without the individuals and organizations who took a chance on investing in our early efforts. From all of us in the SEMAFI community, thank you.
Our first year is complete, but the road ahead is long. Child by child, we’ll continue to break down the barriers that prevent deaf children from accessing the education and opportunities they deserve.
View our impact report for 2025: