Myriam, in her early fifties, lives in Peyruis, a pretty village in the Alpes de Haute Provence. She works as a chemist at Sanofi and her husband Patrice is a PE teacher at secondary school.
They are both fans of the TV programme "Voyage en terre inconnue". When they saw the programme about Madagascar with the singer Olie, they heard the appeal from J'irai à l'école, visited the association's website and took the plunge. "The idea of sponsoring a school, and more specifically a child, had been in the pipeline for a long time," explains Myriam.
"What appealed to us", continues Myriam, "was that the association started from nothing and built everything up within the framework of a project on a human scale". And she adds, "with you, we know that the money we give goes to the right place".
In August, Myriam and Patrice mobilised their friends, families and colleagues to collect books, albums, blank notebooks, pencils, modelling clay, fancy dress, educational games, puzzles and more. They loaded up their car and headed for Paris to deliver 8 boxes and 5 large bags to the charity. Many of the donations were transported by JIAE members who were on a mission to Madagascar to help the School of the Little Giants get back to school.
Myriam is convinced that "it's through education that these Madagascan children will pull through".