SEMAFI Expansion

The Fianarantsoa School for the Deaf (SEMAFI) is the only school for the deaf in the lower third of Madagascar, a region with approximately 10 million people. Despite serving such a large area, the school is small, underdeveloped, and only able to enroll a small fraction of the deaf children in need.

As our sponsorship program and outreach efforts grow, so does SEMAFI’s student body. Already, space is tight. Every bed in the dormitory is full, with some students sharing beds. All six of SEMAFI’s classrooms are in use, and a chalkboard was installed in the dining room this year so the room could double as the technical training classroom. In order to make education accessible to more deaf children and expand SEMAFI’s education programs, new and improved facilities are urgently needed.

We’re working with SEMAFI to enroll more deaf children and make it possible for existing students to continue their studies past fifth grade. The nearest middle school for deaf students is in Antsirabe, eight hours north of Fianarantsoa. For most SEMAFI families, the distance and cost make it impossible to send their child there. As a result, many students are forced to cut their education short.

Current Project: Classroom Construction

Beginning next year, SEMAFI plans to add one grade per year until deaf children in the Fianarantsoa region have the same opportunity to graduate from high school as their hearing peers. But in order to make this vision a reality, we need to begin constructing new classrooms in July.

We are currently working to raise $15,000 to build three classrooms before the start of the school year in Septmeber. These classrooms will make it possible for SEMAFI to begin offering sixth grade next year and lay the foundation for a permanent midle school program.

These classrooms will also help address another urgent need at SEMAFI: overcrowding in the preschool program. The new building will enable the school to add a third preschool class. Without this expansion, SEMAFI expects to have more than 15 students in each of its two preschool sections next year, nearly double the recommended maximum of eight deaf students per class. 

Deaf children shouldn’t have to leave school after fifth grade. Any donation, no matter how small, helps bring us closer to a future when deaf children have the opportunity to continue their education and reach their full potential.