Adventures with Village Harmony in Madagascar

In July 2023, Anne and I had the great pleasure of attending a singing camp in Madagascar.  Spread over 3 weeks and a number of locations, we had the bestest time.  Under the auspices of Village Harmony (a US based charity https://www.villageharmony.org/international-campsdedicated to running singing camps near and far) there were 4 song leaders – 2 locals, 1 from the USA (our Village Harmony representative) and of course our very own Lala Simpson the Wellingtonian originally from Madagascar without whom the whole gig couldn’t have functioned.

Madagascar is actually a much bigger country than NZ with a rather rugged road system – not helped by the occasional cyclone – Freddie being an especially damaging one earlier in the year.   So our road trips tended to be long but the scenery is stunning (ask me to share a few hundred photos next time we meet) and the stops for local food or sights more than just a bit interesting   The island has 30 million people and of course home to a few lemurs and chameleons – but mostly a diverse human population whose main tongue is Malagasy despite a (brutal) French colonisation or frequent waves of settlers in the past. 

There was a range of abilities among the singers which were well accommodated by the leaders – we were fortunate to have 6 men and 6 women attendees plus the 3 female leaders and 1 male leader, who sang along with us when not leading a song.

We learnt a number of different local songs in Malagasy as well as English language shape note songs and gospel classics.   One of the highlights for me was practicing one of the songs and finding some Malagasy women grooving and singing along down the driveway – so we went and sang for them – they were migrant workers from another area and we happened to be singing a well known song from their home – they were joyous and homesick at the same time.  We performed our new repertoire in various places to an often appreciative but slightly bemused audience who could hardly comprehend a bunch of white people singing to them in Malagasy.    Plenty of time was made for visiting local attractions.  Would I go again?  – you bet I would.

Lala is working again as a Village Harmony tutor in South Africa soon – I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it if you ask

Chester Holmes