"Partners with the poor in one of the world's poorest countries."
The Caring Response Marionettes
A puppet performance!
Widespread illiteracy and
native taboos about sanitation have long impeded the spread of good hygiene and healthy living practices among the urban poor
in Tamatave and among the villagers in rural areas. It has taken time and effort to
convince people that it is not a violation of sacred tradition to put a latrine in the same ground as the bones of your ancestors.
The Creative Arts Initiative, begun in 2002, is meeting the challenge to the delight of the young and old alike.This project brought a master puppeteer to Tamatave to lead a training program for
local artists who made their own set of puppets, and then created skits and dialogues. Their popular storylines include
dramas about the need for family latrines and hand-washing, and the importance of educating girls.
On June
3, 2002, the newly trained puppeteers staged their first performance at a Tamatave school. Both school
children and adults attended the puppet show- the first they had ever seen.Since then, the puppeteers have performed in schools and villages
in the surrounding area.The response
from the local community has been, not surprisingly, “More! More!”
