Odity and L’Ile Aux Enfants School: a long-standing partnership to help children in Anosibe, Madagascar 

Founded in 2011 in Antananarivo by Benoît Vorilhon, Odity was born out of the desire to offer high value-added Customer Service to local and French customers. Alongside his talented teams, Benoît quickly transformed this initiative into a genuine local success. In 2015, fate brought together Benoît and Éric Hanrion, founder of the Ile Aux Enfants School, an association dedicated to educating children from the disadvantaged district of Antananarivo: Anosibe. Conquered by this admirable educational project, Odity’s founder promptly made his company a key partner of this association.

Eight years after this decisive meeting between Benoît and Éric, the partnership between Odity and Ile Aux Enfants persists with the sponsorship of children, the ongoing maintenance of the school, the support of its expansion projects, as well as the establishment of regular meetings between the children and Odity Antananarivo Team.

L’Ile Aux Enfants, more than a school, a place to live

Created by Eric Hanrion, an educational supervisor by profession, the Ile Aux Enfants School is located in one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of the city of Antananarivo. Surrounded by swamps, the school emerges like an island, hence its name “L’Ile Aux Enfants”, translated “The Island of Children”.

Without political or religious affiliation, the school opened its doors in 2012, with only 2 nursery classes in which 38 children were divided.
Today it welcomes more than 300 students on a daily basis, divided into 15 classes, from nursery school to high school. As well as a Home for children in very vulnerable situations.

Early learning programs for the very young ones

For primary & middle school classes, the School’s Teaching Team has set up educational programs whose objectives are to raise students’ awareness of nature, make them responsible for waste management and open them up to the outside world by keeping informed of news. 
Among the educational facilities, here is the vegetable garden area where students learn to plant, cultivate and harvest fruits & vegetables, which are then consumed in the school canteen.

Preparing older children for the world of work

For students looking for professional training, the school has created an Information and Orientation Center (IOC) within the school, as well as 3 certified apprenticeship training courses on Culinary Arts, Construction Trades and Teaching Professions. 

“The initial purpose of L’Ile Aux Enfants was to provide an education for children living in township. The risk is that once they have finished school and have no job, they will return to a precarious situation. It’s vital to support them so that they can find their place in society”.

Eric Hanrion

A foster home to meet the needs of children in danger

Since its inception, Ile Aux Enfants has aimed to offer a safe environment and caring support to all its students. If school is a place of learning, it is also a real place of life where children can grow and flourish. Since the beginning of 2023, the school has expanded to include a foster home for students in situations of danger and vulnerability. The development of this new infrastructure will allow these young girls and boys to develop in peace, optimise their academic success and fully enjoy their childhood.

Odity, a company committed to quality education for all

Aware that education fosters socio-economic mobility and is a means of escaping poverty, Odity is mobilizing to provide access to quality education in Madagascar through financial support for the Ile Aux Enfants School.

A local partnership for children’s education and health

For 8 years, Odity has sponsored dozens of students from the school. This sponsorship allows these children to go to school, eat on school days and have access to medical care.

To date, Odity sponsorship finances 10% of the school budget.
This budget is devoted primarily to building maintenance work (painting, plastering, roof renovation, etc.) due to torrential rains and cyclones which raise the water level in the Anosibe swamp. Garbage blocking the sewers, the neighborhood and the school regularly find themselves under water.

Our financial support also makes it possible to contribute to the financing of the construction of new buildings such as the Information and Orientation Center (IOC) or the foster home, long-term structures providing support for children outside of school.

Beyond a financial partnership, a privileged relationship has been created between the association and Odity Antananarivo. Many meetings are organized during the school year. From sporting events to simple exchanges during snacks, Odity employees are regularly in contact with students. Some employees even sponsor students on a personal basis.

Discover some friendly shared moments, such as the traditional end-of-year party, or the children’s first Futsal outing!

A shared sponsorship action with clients

Proud of this commitment and the concrete achievements made by Eric and his teaching team, Odity offers its clients the opportunity to join in this approach via a meeting during their visit to our offices in Odity Antananarivo, or a shared sponsorship action to multiply the essential contribution to the sustainability of the association.