Thank you for your support

I have emerged from the jungles of Madagascar after two and a half months and have much to report from my time in the wilderness.

Madagascar is one of the most magnificent places that I have ever been, and where they have managed to survive, replete with the most beautiful landscapes, wonderful creatures and delightful people that I could ever have imagined.

My time in Madagascar was a wonderfully rewarding experience and the programme run by Azafady is very impressive. I was engaged in educational, humanitarian and conservation-based activities with the local communities and government, which are greatly appreciated and vital to protecting this unique but threatened environment and the interests of the impoverished local communities.

I lived for most of the time in a tiny village made of reeds and palm fronds called Ambandrika. It is one of three beautiful hamlets in the St. Luce area. These hamlets have no electricity, no running water, no sewerage system, and very rudimentary health facilities but are rich in natural wonders and the kindness and hospitality of their human inhabitants.

Every day I was kept busy contributing to education programmes, community conservation projects, biodiversity research, local enterprise activities, health initiatives, forestry management, reforestation work, the building of fuel-efficient stoves (for which there is a long village waiting list), and the introduction of sustainable agricultural methods, to name a selection of the activities. Although on Sundays I was free to roam the forests, socialise with the villagers, or just laze by the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.

Azafady’s work across the southeast of the country is even more broad-ranging. Click this link for a recent report on some of these important works in Madagascar.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all once again for your donations and to provide this information so that you can see how your generous donations have been used. I hope that you feel it was a worthwhile contribution.

I will continue to be involved with the Azafady programme and efforts to protect Madagascar’s people and environment, which are increasingly threatened by factors ranging from resource depletion to rapacious foreign mining interests.

Please do continue to visit my blog in the future for information about these developments and how these challenges are being confronted and overcome.

Unbelievable

The trellis is overflowing with fruit. The lemurs are ecstatic.

The target has been reached. The funds will be transferred to Azafady to support their impressive humanitarian, community development and conservation projects in Madagascar.

And only just in time, as I fly out to Antananarivo this afternoon. I commence my work with the programme on 1 April 2011, after a week of travelling by taxi-brousse, jeep, truck and any other form of transport I can find to Fort Dauphin (Tolagnaro) on the southeast coast, where the Azafady charity is based.

Please do click on the Azafady banner to find more information about the organisation that you have so generously supported and their work to eradicate poverty, suffering and environmental damage in Madagascar.

On behalf of all of wonderful inhabitants of Madagascar, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your enthusiasm, generosity and support with this venture. Clearly, our once tearful little grey friend on the left is still coming to terms with their change in fortunes.

Although communications are not that well developed or reliable in Madagascar, I will keep everyone updated about my contributions to these projects and my other adventures over the next two months.

Thank you all once again for your support.

A seemingly interminable challenge

The lemur made it through freezing February gales and driving rain from London to the coast, and survived.

In the merciless, wintry conditions, it took over 7 hours to complete the 63 miles (100 km) from north London to Brighton, and by the time the lemur arrived - with the sun having long departed these frigid and soggy shores - there was no sign of the sea in the darkness.

Despite the spectacle of a quivering and drenched lemur cycling through the West End, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall heading for the southern counties, Londoners looked on with characteristic lack of interest or disdain, but the tourists loved the bizarre sight, and the lemur got delightfully supportive responses further along the route, with entire cafes waving, stunned pedestrians gaping foolishly from the pavements, and cars swerving across lanes to toot and shout their support (sorely needed in the grueling conditions).

Thankfully, the lemur had a brilliant support crew in James and Kelly, who remained committed to the good cause and good humoured throughout.

So despite the awful conditions, this small and intrepid band completed this difficult challenge but the trellis remains half full and only a few weeks remain.

If you would like to congratulate the cycling lemur and his friends, please do click on the paypal link on the right-hand side, knowing that you will be contributing to Azafady’s impressive humanitarian and environmental projects in Madagascar.

For those of you who have already tried without success, please do try the link again now and be sure to use pauljohnstone17@yahoo.com as the identifier.

Thank you to all of you who have supported this charitable enterprise and please do visit the blog again soon to see the lemurs’ last ditch attempts to reach the target with only days to go.

They say it's a jungle out there... which is a relief

Well things are looking brighter for the lemurs, with more than a smoothie’s worth of fruit having been received by the trellis this week.

But everyone is still looking anxious. There is a long way to go and the fundraising lemur sets off on his bicycle for Brighton in the morning. Perhaps our friends have also caught sight of the Met Office forecast, with its warnings of ‘persistent wet and windy weather, slow to clear in the south-east of England’.

So here is your last chance to show support for the lemur on two wheels as he takes on this epic feat through foreign lands, hoping to raise sufficient funds for Azafady’s conservation and community development efforts on his island home of Madagascar.

Donations of all sizes are very welcome.

Thank you to everyone who has so kindly contributed so far.

A plaintive cry for help

The lemurs are still staring – just as intently – at the meagre pieces of fruit in the base of their trellis, and our solitary grey friend’s tear-filled eyes and doleful expression are almost unbearable, so I have devised a plan to help them.

I am going to be attempting a charity fundraising cycle from London to Brighton… in a lemur suit.

The cycle will take place on Saturday 26 February 2011.

The cycle is over 50 miles long, traverses both urban and rural settings, and in February, is subject to weather for which lemurs are not well suited.

I would be very grateful if you could sponsor me to complete the cycle by donating to the PayPal link on the right-hand side of this blog.

You may wish to sponsor me per mile (perhaps with extra money if it is raining, snowing or below 4 degrees celsius!) or just to complete the cycle.

You will be rewarded with numerous photos of the spectacle and the knowledge that you are contributing to an extremely worthwhile cause.

Madagascar and all of its wonderful inhabitants need your help.

Thanks for your support.

Please do return to see how the lemurs are faring from time to time. I will be posting further details about the cycle shortly.

Welcome to my new blog, ‘Protecting Madagascar’

I have recently been accepted onto a voluntary conservation and humanitarian programme based in Madagascar with the charity, Azafady. The two-month long programme comprises environmental projects and development, infrastructure and educational work with impoverished local communities.

Azafady is a reputable but small charity that is committed to improving the welfare of local people and to protecting Madagascar’s endangered ecosystems, and it is necessary to raise funds to support these activities.  The minimum amount required to cover my contribution to these important works is £2100.

Over the next few weeks I will be attempting to raise funds to support Azafady’s projects and to protect this unique and magnificent natural environment. Contributions of all sizes will be gratefully received.

Please keep returning to my blog to keep abreast of my activities as I try desperately to help the lemurs fill their trellis full of fruit in time for the commencement of the programme on 1 April 2011.

Thank you very much for your support.