“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” —Thich Nhat Hanh
The Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Mahajanga, Madagascar. We believe in bringing help and hope to those in difficulty through establishing Daystar International Schools, skills training, and caring for the aged.
Madagascar is a beautiful island off the South East coast of Africa. It’s rich scenery and biodiversity constantly attracts tourism since about 90% of plants and wildlife in Madagascar are found nowhere else on the planet.
However due to political unrest in the not so distant past, The island finds itself among the 10 poorest countries on Earth, and more than 69% of the population live on less than a dollar a day.
It is in this context that the Hope Foundation finds itself and seeks to help and make an impact by providing opportunities for a brighter future.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr
Daystar International School was established in 2019 in Mahajanga, Madagascar and is dedicated to providing affordable, quality education in a safe, Christian environment. Established with the mission to equip students with strong academic foundations, the school strives to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual development in every child, regardless of their background.
Following the success of our Mahajunga campus, Daystar opened a new campus in Antsirabe in 2023. This marks a significant milestone in our mission to provide quality education and empower individuals across the region of Madagascar. This expansion reflects our commitment to making a positive impact and helping more people access the tools they need to succeed. Our mahajunga campus currently caters for over 120 pupils and our Antsirabe campus caters for over 55 pupils.
The school’s mission is to offer a high standard of education that is accessible to families across the region. At the heart of its mission is the belief that education should be more than just academic knowledge; it should also nurture character and instill a sense of responsibility, kindness, and integrity.
We are looking to raise $300,000 which will enable us buy land, put up classrooms and to furnish them with the necessary amenities needed for a high quality education.
Located in Mahajanga and Antsirabe
Our Mahajanga campus currently caters for over 120 pupils and our Antsirabe campus caters for over 55 pupils.
For the past 5 years, Daystar has used rented properties to house the school. This worked well at the beginning, but has become tricky as the school has grown. At the moment, we have reached a cap in our growth in both campuses due to the limitations presented by the rented properties. This forces different grades to share classrooms, there doesn’t seem to be any room for further growth, and there is also no space for important amenities such as a sports field, science lab, offices and so on.
This is what has led us to embark on this project to build a permanent home for the Daystar international school. To accomplish this, we would need to secure sufficient financial resources to acquire land where we can build permanent structures for the school.
Francine Bruce graduated from the University of Ghana with a BSC in Business Administration and holds a post graduate diploma in Public Administration from the University of South Africa.
She currently lives in Madagascar as a missionary along with her husband and two children.
Her love and compassion for people initially led her to do what she could to help people with her own limited resources. It was after doing this for the past close to six years, that the idea of Hope Foundation was birthed.