Nekeny: I want to become a teacher when I’m grown because teachers share their knowledge with me, and I would like to do the same too.”

Nekeny* is fifteen years old and lives in Benato-Atsimo, Madagascar. She comes from a nuclear family with both her father and mother, and has seven siblings.

Her parents, like many in rural communities, depended primarily on farming to sustain the family. Yet, recurring droughts, insecurity, and the absence of opportunities for children made survival increasingly difficult. To cope, the children had to step in, supporting their parents not only with farm work but also in the dangerous task of mica mining.

Nekeny´s family lives in a small two room house made of mud. Despite their struggles, her parents did their best to provide a bed for their children to sleep on. Water is fetched from the village river, about a ten minute walk from their home. The children often play in the village playground.

Pushed into child labour

Due to drought, poverty, and lack of alternatives, Nekeny and her siblings were drawn into mica mining alongside their parents. “Working in the mica mines was not a good experience. I didn’t like to dig for mica, but we faced a crisis so we had to support our parents,” she shared.

Life growing up in the village

When she was younger, especially during the dry season, Nekeny would accompany her parents to the mica mines instead of going to school.

 “When it was not cultivation time, especially during the dry season, we would go to the mica mines with our parents. Our quarry was very big. We would sort micas from 8 am until 4 pm. We would also take water out of the mines. Sometimes I would go to Benato to study but you know it is far from here. I can’t remember the first time I went to the mines, perhaps when I was 10,” she recalled.

The work was exhausting and unsafe. “I really felt fatigue in my spine, pain in my chest and I would go to sleep to get relief,” she explained.

The family’s income from mica mining was minimal; a 50 kg bag sold for only MGA 5,000 (about 1 euro). On average, they could earn just 1–2 euros in a week, and on a better week, 1 euro in two days. With such meagre earnings, their meals were equally modest, often limited to cassava with greens for breakfast, corn, watery rice or sweet potatoes with beans for lunch, and cassava with beans for dinner.

Relief and Support

In 2023, through the FAMAHA 2 project, implemented by Terre des Hommes Netherlands and FAFAFI, Nekeny became a participant when the project was introduced in her village. 

In June 2024, following the inauguration of a new school in Ranohendry, Nekeny was enrolled in primary school and received various forms of support, including school supplies such as a backpack, pens, copybooks, pencils, and rulers. She also benefited from daily meals provided in the school canteen, took part in the Child Rights Club, and her household received support in the form of bean seeds and membership in a Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) group.

Her parents welcomed the project intervention, and with their support, Nekeny was able to stop working in the mica mines and focus on her studies. Her father also joined the local child protection committee Comité Local pour la Lutte contre le Travail des Enfants (CLLTE), which, alongside teachers and other members, continues to do outreach in the community to raise awareness about child labour, violence, and exploitation, while also monitoring child labour cases in the mica mines.

A brighter future

Today, Nekeny’s life has changed. She wakes up, washes her face, and goes to school. She enjoys learning new lessons, participating actively in class, and responding to teachers’ questions on the blackboard. After school, she helps her family with chores, goes to the river to swim and clean herself, and plays with her friends.

“I like to play elastic rope games and football with my friends,” she said, though she added with a smile that the rope is broken.

Thanks to the school canteen, she now eats three meals a day, and her parents remain the sole providers for the family through farming and mica mining.

She reflected on the transformation in her life:
“I feel I have a better life now that I go to school because mica mining is not good but we had to support our parents to face the crisis.”

For Nekeny, education is the path to her dream. “To me who wishes to become a teacher, this support is important,” she explained. I want to become a teacher when I’m grown because teachers share their knowledge with me, and I would like to do the same too. I’ll give money to my parents when I make a lot when I’m grown.”

She concludes with a strong message to her community:
“I want to become a teacher so I can teach people. Send children to school. Do not take them to the mica mines as it gives pain to their chest and they do not enjoy their rights too.”

The FAMAHA 2 Project, implemented by Terre des Hommes Netherlands and FAFAFI, supports children in Ranohendry, Benato-Atsimo, and Antanambao through education, household support, and community-based protection structures. By addressing child labour and exploitation, the project gives children like Nekeny hope for a safer, brighter future.

*Name changed to protect the identity of the project participant. All people involved in this story gave informed consent to participate.