TESMA - Trilingual Elementary Montessori School of Madagascar

2025

After over a decade of grassroots social work across five villages, Education For Madagascar has witnessed firsthand how poverty and daily violence rob children of their dignity and future. In response, the organization has embraced Education for Peace, a framework developed by Maria Montessori in the 1930s, which offers a transformative approach to breaking cycles of hardship through education rooted in empathy, concentration, and non-violent conflict resolution.

Since its founding in 2016, Education For Madagascar has provided free, high-quality education, healthcare, and training to more than 773 children and 313 women, always upholding values of independence from political or religious influences. In 2023, the successful launch of Akanin’ny Kilonga, Akka Montessori Madagascar—a trilingual Montessori Children's House in Ambohibe, Antananarivo—marked a pivotal step forward. With 28 young children thriving in a nurturing, multilingual environment (Malagasy, French, and English), the need to expand into a full Montessori elementary program (ages 6–12) is urgent and clear.

At the heart of this expansion is a request for funding to acquire essential Montessori materials. These high-quality tools are critical for enabling hands-on, individualized learning in subjects like math, language, and science—giving underprivileged Malagasy children the foundation they need to flourish intellectually and emotionally.

In a country where quality education is a rare privilege, this initiative stands as a bold declaration: that even in one of the world’s poorest nations, children can achieve the highest standards of learning when given the right environment. MGGF is proud to support this initiative and provide funding for high fidelity Montessori materials, in order that TESMA can build a model of sustainable, peace-driven education—one that nurtures confident, capable youth ready to shape a more just and resilient Madagascar.