Disability Schools
Sunrise Disability Centre, Madagascar
On Oct 26th 2024 the first centre for the support and education of people with disabilities on the island of Nosy Be, Madagascar was opened. This building of this centre had been financed by Jacob’s Well Appeal. The opening ceremony represented the end of a long journey. The old Sunrise centre, which had opened a year before in a rented building had enabled Nathan Stapley, the centre director to start gathering disabled children and their families from across the island. It opened with 40 children. A year later, this had become 60, as more families came forward admitting that they had disabled children. Families often hide their disabled children in Madagascar. They are often ashamed that they have children who are not normal, and there are no state facilities or medical help to enable them to overcome the practical difficulties that they have.
When Nathan was told he had to leave the rented building, the first task was to find suitable land that they could buy to build on. The land had to be flat, around 800 square metres, and also have to have title deeds so that it could be legally transferred—not always easy in Madagascar. It also had to be easily accessible for the pupils to get there. After a long search a suitable piece of land was found in a community called Menapingo, not far from the newly paved road. The land was bought. Then began the daunting process of designing and building a centre that was visually stunning, incorporating traditional Malagasy designs with the accessibility needed for a centre which supports people with disabilities. They wanted a nice, open area, out of the way of the harsh sun, yet still outdoors and surrounded by nature. The new centre would be off-grid. Water would have to be filtered from on-site wells and electricity from solar panels. The huge terrace space in front of the facility, alongside the beautiful surrounding garden allow the teaching of skills that were impossible at the old centre.
Future needs include the construction of an outdoor play park and a paved road to run from the main road to the centre.